| Prince Andrew stripped of his royal title Atrocities in Sudan’s civil war An album with lyrics in 13 languages |
The art of letting Trump claim a win
| by Lily Kuo and David PiersonWe cover China. | |
When President Xi Jinping of China walked out of his meeting with President Trump in South Korea yesterday, he projected the confidence of a man who’d played his hand well.
By flexing China’s near monopoly on rare earth minerals and its purchasing power over U.S. soybeans, Xi won key concessions from Washington. They included:
| a reduction in tariffs and an agreement to extend a truce on new tariffsa suspension of port fees on Chinese ships |
| the delay of U.S. export controls that would have barred more Chinese firms from gaining access to American technology. |
The outcome allowed Trump to claim a win for American farmers and companies — even though all China did was largely restore the status quo from earlier this year, including restarting its purchases of U.S. soybeans. Xi seemed to grasp what Trump needed: a deal that he could sell as a victory at home.
Trump pumped a fist in the air as he boarded Air Force One. “Our Farmers will be very happy!” he posted on Truth Social afterward. “I would like to thank President Xi for this!”
A country that can hit back
In a Chinese government summary of Xi’s remarks from the meeting, the Chinese president almost sounded as if he was delivering a lecture.
The “recent twists and turns” of the trade war, Xi told Trump, should be instructive. “Both sides should consider the bigger picture and focus on the long-term benefits of cooperation, rather than falling into a vicious cycle of mutual retaliation,” he said.
Xi was most likely referring to months of retaliatory measures between China and the U.S. in the form of tariffs, sanctions and export controls. Earlier this month, China escalated by announcing broad new limits on the sales of rare earths, the critical minerals that are needed for almost all modern technology. Cutting off their supply could weaken U.S. industries.
Xi’s message: Beijing has proved its capacity to hit back, and Washington would do well to remember it.
It seems to have worked. After the two leaders met, China’s Ministry of Commerce said in a statement that it would suspend for one year the restrictions on rare earths that were announced in October. Trump said he would cut in half the 20 percent tariffs he imposed on Chinese goods earlier this year, bringing China’s overall tariff rate to around 47 percent.
Some experts said China inevitably had the upper hand in the trade fight because the Trump administration never had a clear objective.
“Ostensibly, the goal was to address some of the meaty trade issues that had long bedeviled the relationship,” said Jonathan Czin, a fellow at the Brookings Institution.
But China “successfully orchestrated a game of Whac-A-Mole” in response to tariffs, he said, forcing the U.S. to pivot from soybeans to rare earths to TikTok, while leaving the big picture unaddressed.
Czin said Trump’s approach “can safely be described as tactics without a strategy.”
Temporary calm?
The agreements struck on Thursday could bring at least some temporary calm to the U.S.-China relationship. Trump said the two leaders also discussed “working together” to end the war in Ukraine. He said he would travel to China in April, and Xi would visit the U.S. after that.
Trump flattered Xi, calling him “a great leader of a great country” and a “great friend.” Xi, for his part, said he believed China’s development “goes hand in hand” with Trump’s “vision to make America great again.”
Of course, it’s easy to be magnanimous when you’ve proved you can shape the terms of the deal.
Related: The Trump administration also agreed to pause, for one year, a rule that restricted advanced technology exports to Chinese firms. Former officials and analysts called that a potential breakthrough for China.
| MORE TOP NEWS |
Prince Andrew a prince no more
Andrew, the scandal-scarred younger brother of King Charles III, will be stripped of his title, capping his fall from grace over his ties to the convicted sexual predator Jeffrey Epstein.
The extraordinary punishment — unheard-of in the annals of the modern British royal family — means that Andrew, 65, will now be known as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor. He will be evicted from his residence, Royal Lodge, and move to a new home, which is owned personally by Charles.
Videos show horror unfolding in Sudan
Scenes of summary executions and trenches filled with bodies are emerging from the besieged Sudanese city of El Fasher, which was captured by paramilitaries last weekend. The World Health Organization said it had received reports that more than 450 people were massacred at a hospital in the city.
Verified videos and witness accounts showed fighters with the paramilitary force — the Rapid Support Forces, or R.S.F. — hunting down civilians. The group has been battling Sudan’s military since the country plunged into a ruinous civil war over two years ago.
The images of atrocities have set off global outrage. Some U.S. lawmakers called for punitive measures against the group’s main foreign backer, the United Arab Emirates.
| OTHER NEWS |
| Hurricane Melissa, now a Category 2 storm, was on course to hit Bermuda by Thursday night. Officials have tallied 23 fatalities in Haiti and five in Jamaica.Hundreds of thousands of ultra-Orthodox Israelis held a mass demonstration in Jerusalem against government efforts to conscript them into the military.The U.S. is cutting the number of refugees it will admit to 7,500 per year, down from 125,000, reserving the bulk of spots for mostly white Afrikaner South Africans.Trump left many national security officials scratching their heads when he declared that the U.S. would resume nuclear testing after a three-decade pause.Volkswagen, Europe’s largest automaker, reported a 1.3 billion euro loss caused partly by Trump’s tariffs. |
| SPORTS |
Football: The 15-year-old Max Dowman is the youngest player ever to start for Arsenal.
Cricket: A teenage Australian player died after being hit by a ball in a practice session.
Basketball: The British N.B.A. player Tosan Evbuomwan recounts his journey to the “Mecca” of the sport.
| QUOTE OF THE DAY |
“I belong to the world. That’s how I feel — yo no soy tan mía como del mundo.”
— In an interview with Popcast, the Spanish musician Rosalía talks about singing in 13 languages, including Latin, on her new album “Lux.”
| MORNING READ |
Could you spend two days without A.I.? It may sound easy until you read about the journalist A.J. Jacobs’s experiment.
He realized he couldn’t watch Netflix, read emails, meet with colleagues over Zoom, take a taxi, scroll Instagram, use his credit card, or even turn on the lights — all of which use artificial intelligence in some way. Read more about the experiment.
| AROUND THE WORLD |
 |
| Rodrigo Oropeza/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images |
How they’re celebrating Día de los Muertos … in Mexico City
Mexico’s Day of the Dead tradition can involve visiting loved ones in their cemeteries and cleaning their graves on Nov. 1 and 2, when spirits are said to feast among the living. In rituals that combine pre-Hispanic and Christian beliefs, ofrendas, or altars, are also set up at homes and public spaces.
More recently, Día de los Muertos has evolved, with Mexico City drawing foreign tourists and holding a popular parade, which actually owes a debt to James Bond. For the opening sequence of “Spectre” in 2015, filmmakers dreamed up a huge procession with hundreds of extras. The scene became so iconic that the city made it real, eventually expanding to three parades on consecutive weekends.
This year, the biggest parade will be devoted to Mexican wrestling and drag, and multinational brands have flooded stores with seasonal promotions. Some Mexicans complain that the once intimate and colorful festivities have become a bit too beige, literally and figuratively. —Elda Cantu, an editor based in Mexico City who oversees El Times, our Spanish-language newsletter.
| RECIPE |
Karpatka, a dessert featuring layers of choux and a creamy filling, is a staple in Polish bakeries. It gets its name from the Carpathian Mountains. In this version, the custard is finished with cream instead of butter, and a juicy cherry compote adds a hit of flavor.
