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Germany's chancellor has touched down in China as German businesses sound the alarm about a yawning trade imbalance, BBC reported. 

Imports into Germany from China were more than double the value of those exported back last year – according to federal statistics.

"We want a partnership with China that is balanced, reliable, regulated and fair," said Friedrich Merz, before leaving for Beijing, according to BBC. 

The US has launched an effort to form a trade zone for critical minerals that are key to making everything from smartphones to weapons as it tries to break China's dominance of the industry, BBC reported. 

On Wednesday, the State Department hosted the first Critical Minerals Ministerial event - which was attended by countries and organisations including the UK, European Union, Japan, India, South Korea, Australia and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Delegates discussed the availability of and access to minerals crucial to the manufacture of things like computer chips and electric vehicle batteries, according to BBC. 

U.S. nuclear-capable bombers flew over the Sea of Japan alongside Japanese fighter jets on Wednesday, Tokyo said, in a show of force following Chinese and Russian drills in the skies and seas around U.S. allies Japan and South Korea, Reuters reported. 

Japan and the U.S. "reaffirmed their strong resolve to prevent any unilateral attempt to change the status quo by force and confirmed the readiness posture of both the Self-Defense Forces and U.S. forces," Japan's defence ministry said in a statement on Thursday.

The flight of two U.S. B-52 strategic bombers with three Japanese F-35 stealth fighters and three F-15 air-superiority jets was the first time the U.S. had asserted its military presence since China began military exercises in the region last week amid heightened tensions between Tokyo and Beijing, according to Reuters.

US President Donald Trump has announced that he will allow AI chip giant Nvidia to sell its advanced H200 chips to "approved customers" in China, BBC reported.

"We will protect National Security, create American Jobs, and keep America's lead in AI," Trump said on social media on Monday.

The decision will apply to other US chip companies like AMD and comes after extensive lobbying by Nvidia boss Jensen Huang, who visited Washington last week to drum up support, according to BBC.

A former Philippines mayor who was accused of spying for China has been found guilty of human trafficking for her role in running a scam centre, BBC reported.

On Thursday, she and three others were sentenced to life in prison and a fine of 2m pesos ($33,832; £25,942). 

The case of Alice Guo has gripped the Philippines for years, after authorities uncovered one of the country's biggest scam centres in her small town of Bamban. Some 800 Filipinos and foreigners were later rescued from the scam hub after a raid, with many of them saying they were forced to run "pig butchering" scams, according to BBC.

China has urged its citizens to avoid travelling to Japan, a popular destination for Chinese tourists, as a diplomatic row festers over threats by new Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on the possibility of deploying forces in the event of a Chinese attack on Taiwan, Aljazeera reported.

The Japanese government raised its objections on Saturday to Beijing’s travel advisory, lodging a formal protest. Top spokesperson, Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara, urged China to take “appropriate measures”, Japan’s Kyodo News Service reported.

Kihara told reporters that it is precisely because of the differences between the two governments that multilayered communication is essential, a Kyodo report said, according to Aljazeera.

The US and China have agreed the framework of a potential trade deal that will be discussed when their respective leaders meet later this week, the US treasury secretary has said, BBC reported.

Scott Bessent told the BBC's US news partner CBS that this included a "final deal" on TikTok's US operations and a deferral on China's tightened rare earth minerals controls.

He also said he did not anticipate the 100% tariff on Chinese goods threatened by US President Donald Trump coming into force, while China will resume substantial soybean purchases from the US, according to BBC.

Rescuers were helping hundreds of hikers trapped by heavy snow at tourist campsites on a slope of Mount Everest in Tibet, Chinese state media said, Associated Press reported.

About 350 hikers had reached a meeting point in Tingri country and rescuers were in contact with another 200, state broadcaster CCTV said late Sunday. There was no immediate update on rescue efforts on Monday.

The hikers were trapped at an elevation of more than 4,900 meters (16,000 feet), according to an earlier report from Jimu News, a Chinese online site. Mount Everest is about 8,850 meters (29,000 feet) tall.

A hiker who rushed to descend before snow blocked the way told Jimu News that others still on the mountain told him the snow was 1 meter (3 feet) deep and had crushed tents, according to Associated Press.

Two people have died in eastern Taiwan and scores more are trapped or missing after a super typhoon caused a mountain lake to burst its banks, fire officials said, BBC reported.

The barrier lake, formed by previous landslides, broke on Tuesday afternoon, sending water surging into the nearby township of Guangfu in Hualien county.

Rescuers from across Taiwan are heading to the area. Super Typhoon Ragasa is the strongest storm of 2025 and is now bearing down on China's southern coast. 

It is due to make landfall in Guangdong province on Wednesday, where some 370,000 people have been evacuated, and many schools and businesses shut. Hong Kong has upgraded its typhoon warning to level 10, the maximum level, according to BBC.

China is hosting its annual Beijing Xiangshan Forum this week, with around 1,800 participants from 100 countries, including military officials, government representatives, and scholars.

The forum is expected to showcase President Xi Jinping’s vision against “hegemonism and power politics,” seen as a critique of US global influence, and highlight China’s military modernization, according to Reuters.

While many Western countries are sending lower‑level delegations, several Southeast Asian nations, including Singapore and Malaysia, will attend at the ministerial level, reflecting the forum’s growing international significance

House Democrats have urged the Trump administration to ensure its trade talks with China address Beijing’s industrial overcapacity. They warned that unchecked production in sectors like steel and solar panels fuels export dumping, threatens US jobs, and destabilizes global markets.

The lawmakers called for stronger enforcement in any deal and closer cooperation with allies to counter China’s practices. Their appeal comes as US and Chinese officials hold talks in Madrid, highlighting bipartisan concern in Washington over Beijing’s export-driven strategy, Reuters reported.

The United States and China completed the first day of high-level trade talks in Madrid on Sunday, addressing strained economic ties and the looming deadline for TikTok’s Chinese parent to sell its US operations, Reuters reported.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer met with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng and senior negotiator Li Chenggang at Spain’s Palacio de Santa Cruz.

While no major breakthroughs are expected, officials signaled the TikTok deadline, due September 17, may be extended. Broader issues such as tariffs, export controls, and agricultural trade are likely being saved for a potential Trump-Xi summit later this year.

At the same time, Washington is urging G7 allies to impose tariffs on China and India over their Russian oil purchases, aiming to curb Moscow’s revenues and push it toward peace talks on Ukraine, according to Reuters.

Talks will continue Monday, followed by joint press briefings.

US has urged its G7 and EU partners to impose tariffs on China and India, accusing them of propping up Moscow’s war in Ukraine through continued Russian oil purchases.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said only coordinated tariffs can choke off the revenues funding Russian President Putin’s invasion. The call came as G7 finance ministers agreed to speed up the use of frozen Russian assets to support Kyiv, according to Reuters.

Washington has already doubled tariffs on Indian imports to 50 percent but has so far held back on Beijing amid ongoing trade talks. Bessent is set to meet Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng in Madrid next week, where trade and security issues will be high on the agenda.

Reuters has removed a short video showing Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping discussing the possibility of humans living to 150. The footage, recorded during a Beijing military parade, was licensed from China Central Television (CCTV).

CCTV later withdrew the license, citing breaches of the agreement and claiming Reuters misrepresented the content. Reuters said it removed the video because it no longer had legal permission, while defending the accuracy of its reporting.

CCTV, its global arm CGTN, and the Chinese embassy in Washington did not immediately comment.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un told Chinese President Xi Jinping that Pyongyang will firmly support China’s sovereignty, territorial integrity, and national development, according to Reuters.

Kim said the friendship between the two countries would remain unchanged despite global shifts. Xi echoed this, calling China and North Korea “good neighbours, good friends and good comrades” with a shared future.

Both leaders agreed to deepen strategic cooperation, step up high-level exchanges, and strengthen coordination on regional and international issues. KCNA, the state media described the visit as a historic boost to political trust and bilateral ties.

Kim concluded his Beijing trip on Thursday, escorted to the border by senior Chinese officials. Separately, Russian President Vladimir Putin sent Kim a message marking North Korea’s foundation day, praising its military support for Russia and vowing stronger ties, Reuters reported.

President Donald Trump praised China’s military parade in Beijing as “beautiful” but said the United States should have been acknowledged in President Xi Jinping’s speech, citing America’s support to China during World War II, according to Reuters.

The ceremony, marking 80 years since Japan’s defeat, drew global attention with Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un in attendance.

Afterward, Trump posted a sarcastic message suggesting Xi, Putin, and Kim were “plotting against the US,” a remark the Kremlin brushed off as irony, Reuters reported.