Flagship

China promises trade support

China’s leaders vowed to “resolutely focus” on supporting firms hit by US President Donald Trump’s trade war, insisting they would head off Washington’s punishing tariffs. Trump has imposed duties of at least 145% on Chinese goods, although his administration has voiced openness to negotiating them down, which analysts characterized as weakness: A Bloomberg editor argued Chinese leader Xi Jinping was “winning his tariff waiting game with Trump,” while Handelsblatt said the US president was “Beijing’s best man.” Yet China’s economy is not impervious, with the Financial Times reporting its factories are slowing production and furloughing workers, while Bloomberg said Beijing is considering lowering its reciprocal levies on US goods in order to bolster vulnerable sectors.

US-China trade upended

China slashed purchases of American farm goods while Apple will reportedly shift assembly of US-bound iPhones to India, as protectionism upends trade between the world’s two biggest economies. China is the US’ biggest buyer of soybeans and the third biggest of pork, but has cancelled 97% worth of orders of the former and 72% of the latter. Agriculture accounts for a tenth of all US employment; President Donald Trump doled out much-criticized farm subsidies in his first term with a similar package being debated now. Separately, the Financial Times said Apple aimed to make all US-bound iPhones in India by the end of next year, a seismic shift after building its cutting-edge supply chain around China.

Executives draw on COVID lessons

Business leaders are drawing on their pandemic playbook as they grapple with the economic disruptions sparked by US President Donald Trump’s policies. The upending of supply chains and halt to travel during the COVID-19 outbreak forced companies to adapt: FedEx’s chief executive told Semafor’s World Economy Summit the company learned lessons “for this world where disruption seems to be the norm.” Trump’s railing against Canada and Europe, alongside his high-profile immigration crackdown, have hit US-bound tourism, and retailers are again looking to local customers to make up the shortfall: One California mall that catered to Chinese tourists pre-pandemic later shifted its advertising budget from China to the state. “We’ve been through it before,” an executive told Business of Fashion.

Kenya boosts EU, China ties

Kenya bolstered trade ties with both the European Union and China in the face of tariff threats from the US — its second-biggest export market. The EU said it expects trade between the bloc and Africa’s sixth-biggest economy to double after signing a duty-free trade agreement. Meanwhile Nairobi upgraded its ties to Beijing to “a new level” after a meeting between the countries’ leaders in China. Over the past two decades, Beijing has become Africa’s biggest lender and trade partner, while Chinese firms have outmuscled American and European competitors across the continent.

Russia says ‘ready’ for Ukraine deal

Russia’s foreign minister said Moscow was “ready to reach a deal” on peace with Ukraine, though analysts voiced skepticism. With US President Donald Trump’s envoy due in Moscow today for fresh talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Sergey Lavrov told CBS news that “some specific points … need to be fine-tuned,” echoing Kremlin claims that minor issues were holding up a ceasefire. Ukraine and its supporters argue, however, that Russia has been playing for time while continuing to push forward on the battlefield, and that a US-designed peace deal is overly favorable to Moscow. “What is there in this deal that can realistically stop a third Russian invasion?” former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson wrote. “Nothing.”

Courts block Trump orders

US courts blocked three of President Donald Trump’s executive orders, once again setting the White House in conflict with the judiciary. In a series of blows to Trump’s policy agenda, federal judges halted orders requiring public schools to end DEI initiatives, imposed proof-of-citizenship at voting booths, and froze government funds to jurisdictions which harbor undocumented immigrants. The orders are the latest in a series of legal headaches for the Trump administration: It is refusing to cooperate with a Supreme Court ruling requiring it to “facilitate” the return of a US resident wrongly deported to El Salvador, a stance which critics say risks creating a constitutional crisis.

Mexico’s judicial candidates

A former Mexican state attorney with alleged ties to organized crime and lawyers for notorious cartel bosses are among the candidates to become judges in an election due this year. Last year, Mexico’s ruling party passed a law that made it only the second country after Bolivia to elect its judges via popular vote, with 881 posts — from the Supreme Court down to local magistrates — due to be chosen in June. Experts believe the election of judges with ties to organized crime could be the death knell of Mexico’s democracy. Meanwhile economists fear the erosion of the rule of law will lead to yet greater uncertainty for investors at a time when US tariffs threaten to kneecap the economy.

Ezra Klein is on a book tour — you may have heard his voice on some of your other favorite podcasts talking about Abundance. Today, Ben and Max also talk to The New York Times columnist and host… but you won’t hear anything about the book (you’ll just have to buy it). Instead, they ask Ezra what he’s learned about the media and podcasting through this latest tour, how the “abundance” framework might apply to media, and if Trump will go after the press next. They also discuss how he’s become a rare media celebrity for liberals, why his fans feel saner listening to him — and how that may not be a good thing.

Rivals still friends in space

The China National Space Administration shared rare lunar rocks with US scientists, despite the two countries’ ongoing trade war. The Chang’e 5 mission was the first to land on the Moon’s far side: Scientists hope the rocks will give insights into lunar formation. The CNSA said they were “a shared treasure for all humanity.” A US space scientist told the BBC that “international cooperation in science… is the norm” regardless of politics, a point illustrated by a Russian spacecraft taking a US astronaut to the International Space Station this month. While US-China scientific collaboration has weakened — NASA is not allowed to share its own lunar samples with CNSA — the two nations renewed a key cooperation agreement late last year.

AI’s danger to humans

The CEO of Anthropic warned of the danger posed by humans’ inability to understand artificial intelligence models. Dario Amodei wrote that a modern AI was basically a black box — “we have no idea… why it makes the choices it does” — and given how central AI platforms are becoming to the global economy and to security, it is unacceptable that we are “totally ignorant of how they work.” Earlier Anthropic research showed that existing AIs sometimes try to deceive users. He said Anthropic wants to solve the problem by 2027. AI already facilitates scientific work: Aeon noted that in future, humans may be unable to understand the process or results of that work.

AI DJ unnoticed for six months

A Sydney radio station is under fire for using an artificial intelligence-generated host without mentioning it. “Thy” hosts four hours of hip-hop every weekday on CADA, but an Australian newsletter received a tipoff that she was not real, which seemed plausible given she had no social media presence, last name, or available biographical details. It transpired that her face and voice were taken from a real employee of the station’s parent company, using a generative AI audio platform. Australian radio industry figures said the episode highlighted the need for “safeguards” and AI labeling, although the really interesting takeaway seems to be that no one noticed for six months.

• US President Donald Trump arrives in Rome ahead of Pope Francis’ funeral on Saturday.
• Italy marks Liberation Day, commemorating the victory of the country’s resistance movement in World War II.
• The American National Rifle Association begins its annual meeting in Atlanta, Georgia.

The number of years that passed before the Catholic Church’s College of Cardinals elected a non-Italian to be Pope, a streak broken when Karol Wojtyła, aka John Paul II, was chosen in 1978. Italians have historically made up the lion’s share of popes, with 217 having been elected. However Italians’ waning share of votes in the college — 21% this year, down from 60% in 1939 — has opened the door to cardinals from other nationalities, with ones from Ghana and the Philippines among the top contenders to replace Pope Francis.

Da Enzo al 29, Via dei Vascellari, Rome. It’s easy to get stuck in tourist traps if you visit the Italian capital, a longtime resident wrote in Time Out: Avoid places with a view of the Pantheon and head to somewhere locals eat. Top of her list is the “simple, honest fare” at this “picturesque little eatery” in Trastevere: “Eating here feels like a family gathering, with abundant portions expertly prepared.” But show up early, because you can’t book and the queues get long. Visit Da Enzo’s website here.