Search
AI-powered search, human-powered content.
scroll to top arrow or icon

{{ subpage.title }}

Reservists receive training during the annual Han Kuang military exercises in Taoyuan, Taiwan July 9, 2025.

REUTERS

Hard Numbers: Beijing calls Taiwan’s “bluff”, Copper prices soar, Russia breaks drone attack record (again), wildfire threatens France’s second city

22,000: Taiwan has mobilised 22,000 reservists to carry out its largest-ever military drills this week, with surface-to-air missiles and US-supplied High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems as part of the maneuvers. When asked about the drills on Tuesday, the foreign ministry in Beijing – which considers self-governing Taiwan a part of China – called the exercises “nothing but a bluff.”

50%: US copper prices surged after President Donald Trump threatened on Tuesday to impose 50% tariffs on the metal. Copper is essential for home construction, car manufacturing, energy infrastructure, and data centers.

728: Russia launched a record 728 drones at Ukraine overnight, marking the third time in the last two weeks that Moscow has outdone itself. Last night’s attack came after Trump resumed shipments of critical air-defense weapons to Ukraine and declared he was tired of Putin’s “bullsh*t” on Tuesday.

400: A massive wildfire has reached the outskirts of Marseille, France’s second-largest city, prompting the evacuation of at least 400 people and injuring nine firefighters. At its peak, the fire spread at 1.2 kilometers per minute, driven by strong winds, dense vegetation, and steep terrain. Over 1,000 firefighters have been deployed to battle the blaze, which continues to threaten the area.

U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson walks back to office, as Republican lawmakers struggle to pass U.S. President Donald Trump's sweeping spending and tax bill, on Capitol Hill, in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 3, 2025.

REUTERS

What We're Watching: House folds on Trump bill, Beijing lashes out at US-Vietnam deal, Nigerian opposition unites

House holdouts bluff then fold on Trump’s budget bill

The US House is set to pass President Donald Trump’s epic tax-and-spending bill any minute now. Some eleventh hour House Republicans holdouts had signaled that they would oppose the broadly unpopular bill because it boosts the national debt by trillions while threatening to leave millions without health insurance, but they quickly fell in line after under direct pressure from Trump. The imminent final passage of the bill will fulfil Trump’s wish to have the landmark legislation on his desk by the Fourth of July holiday.

Read moreShow less

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Kiribati's President and Foreign Minister Taneti Maamau meet after the Third China-Pacific Island Countries Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Xiamen, China, on May 28, 2025.

Tian Yuhao/China News Service/VCG via Reuters Connect

Beijing’s Island Breeze: China makes a play for power in the Pacific

Last week, something highly unusual was spotted off the coast of Japan. In an unprecedented show of naval power, two Chinese aircraft carriers were seen cruising together near the country’s easternmost islands of Minamitori and Okinotori—far out into the Pacific Ocean.

The carrier groups conducted drills alongside one another for the first time in Pacific waters, accompanied by jets, helicopters, and supporting warships.

Read moreShow less

President Donald Trump at a bilateral meeting with China's President Xi Jinping during the G20 leaders summit in Osaka, Japan, on June 29, 2019.

REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo

Trump promises to be “very nice” with China – but Beijing won’t be flattered

On Wednesday, Donald Trump said he would deliver a “fair deal” with China. He also said he’d be “very nice” to the country after meeting with major retailers. CNN reports the retailers gave the president a “blunt message” about the risks of a prolonged trade war with China, warning shop shelves could “soon be empty.”

Read moreShow less

Containers on a cargo ship are seen at an industrial port in Tokyo, Japan April 3, 2025.

REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon

Beijing tries to woo an uninterested Tokyo over joint tariff fight

Chinese Premiere Li Qiang sent Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba a letter asking that they “fight protectionism together,” according to local reports Tuesday, as both countries face potentially disastrous US tariffs.

Read moreShow less

US President Donald Trump attends a bilateral meeting with China's President Xi Jinping during the G20 leaders summit in Osaka, Japan, June 29, 2019.

REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo

China vows retaliation as US tariffs take effect

With the Trump administration’s reciprocal tariffs taking effect on Wednesday, the US’s largest trading partner, China, has signaled that it is not backing down from a trade war. Beijing has promised to “fight to the end” after Donald Trump imposed 104% levies on China. Sure enough, the Mainland Kingdom announced on Wednesday that it would impose an additional 50% tariff on US imports, matching Trump’s latest hike.

Read moreShow less
Midjourney

How DeepSeek changed China’s AI ambitions

Just a few short months ago, Silicon Valley seemed to have the artificial intelligence industry in a chokehold. Startups OpenAI and Anthropic blazed the trail on large language models while Google, Meta, Microsoft, and other tech incumbents invested billions to keep up. Meanwhile, the United States’ distinct chip advantage from homegrown giant Nvidia and overseas allies Taiwan Semiconductor made America’s lead over China seem insurmountable.
Read moreShow less

The DeepSeek logo is displayed on three cell phones in front of a computer screen showing the Chinese national flag.

Artur Widak/NurPhoto via Reuters

China announces a state-backed AI fund

Chinese officials on Thursday announced a new state fund to invest in cutting-edge technology, including artificial intelligence.

Zheng Shanjie, chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission, the country’s economic planning agency, told reporters that the “state venture capital guidance fund” will bring in $138 billion over 20 years from local governments and private firms.

Read moreShow less

Subscribe to our free newsletter, GZERO Daily

Latest