The 52nd G7 Summit was held in France, and the meeting issued a joint statement opposing any unilateral attempts to change the status quo, especially opposing any attempts to change the status quo by force or coercion in the East China Sea, the South China Sea, and the Taiwan Strait.
Data from the General Administration of Customs of China shows that China's exports of rare earth magnets to the U.S. in August fell 21% from July to 512 tons. Ahead of a meeting between Trump and Xi, outside analysts suggest the Chinese side may use the expansion of rare earth exports as a negotiating chip. In addition, U.S. Treasury Secretary Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng held a meeting on trade and artificial intelligence issues, and both sides agreed to further consultations.
According to reports on September 21, Chinese state-owned enterprises ordered about 260,000 tons of U.S. soybeans last week, scheduled for shipment between December and next January, bringing total purchases for the current marketing season to nearly 13 million tons.
On September 20, 2026, US Treasury Secretary Bessent and US Trade Representative Greer held talks with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng at JPMorgan Chase headquarters in New York. The two sides discussed issues including trade, artificial intelligence safety, and rare earth supplies, preparing for the Trump-Xi summit to be held next week.
The Federal Reserve voted unanimously on Wednesday to raise the federal benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to between 3.75% and 4%, marking the first hike in three years, aimed at addressing inflation pressures and uncertainties stemming from geopolitical tensions, with most officials planning another rate increase later this year.
The first two MQ-9B SeaGuardian drones sold by the United States to Taiwan conducted their maiden test flights in Taiwan's eastern airspace on September 14. This model possesses real-time search and patrol capabilities both above and below the sea surface, with a monitoring radius of approximately 360 kilometers.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Bastian said the talks with China on artificial intelligence, trade and other issues were very successful, and both sides agreed to establish an AI dialogue mechanism and plan to meet again.
According to a report by the English edition of the Chosun Ilbo, the US Senate Armed Services Committee has for the first time included the malicious influence of the CCP within South Korea as a matter of special concern in its draft report for the fiscal year 2027 National Defense Authorization Act.
At the Shenzhen import and export trade fair, due to a scarce turnout of buyers and suspicions of hiring fake foreigners to pad attendance, hundreds of exhibitors staged a collective protest demanding refunds of tens of thousands of yuan in exhibition fees, while a large contingent of SWAT police confronted and suppressed them at the scene.
After the National Bureau of Statistics released stable data showing a decline in the urban unemployment rate from January to May, the topic "I really want to know how many unemployed people there are now" surged to fourth place on Weibo's hot search list, triggering a massive wave of netizen commentary venting about employment difficulties.
An 18-year-old boy in Kaizhou District, Chongqing, jumped into the river after being chased by fishery administration personnel while fishing downstream of a regulating dam. Law enforcement officers failed to rescue him, triggering protests from onlookers and family members on the shore, which were suppressed by the police.