Trump, Xi begin talks in push to finalise TikTok deal
Washington (AP): US President Donald Trump is talking with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Friday in a push to finalise a deal to allow the popular social media app TikTok to keep operating in the United States.
The call between the two leaders began around 8 am Washington time, according to a White House official and China's Xinhua News Agency.
The call may offer clues about whether the two leaders might meet in person to hash out a final agreement to end their trade war and provide clarity on where relations between the world's two superpowers may be headed.
This would be the second call with Xi since Trump returned to the White House and launched sky-high tariffs on China, triggering back-and-forth trade restrictions that strained ties between the two largest economies.
But Trump, a Republican, has expressed willingness to negotiate trade deals with Beijing, notably for the social video platform that faces a US ban unless its Chinese parent company sells its controlling stake.
Another call for Trump and Xi over trade tensions
The two men also spoke in June to defuse tensions over China's restrictions on the export of rare earth elements, used in everything from smartphones to fighter jets.
“I'm speaking with President Xi, as you know, on Friday, having to do with TikTok and also trade,” Trump said Thursday. “And we're very close to deals on all of it.”
He said his relationship with China is “very good” but noted that Russia's war in Ukraine could end if European countries put higher tariffs on China. Trump didn't say if he planned to raise tariffs on Beijing over its purchase of Moscow's oil, as he has done with India.
The Chinese Embassy in Washington on Thursday didn't confirm any upcoming summit between the leaders, but spokesperson Liu Pengyu said “heads-of-state diplomacy plays an irreplaceable role in providing strategic guidance for China-US relations”.
Sun Yun, director of the China programme at the Washington-based think tank Stimson Centre, predicted a positive discussion.
“Both sides have strong desire for the leadership summit to happen, while the details lie in the trade deal and what can be achieved for both sides from the summit,” Sun said.
Following a US-China trade meeting earlier this week in Madrid, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the sides reached a framework deal on TikTok's ownership but Trump and Xi likely would finalise it Friday.
Trump, who has credited the app with helping him win another term, has extended a deadline several times for the app to be spun off from its Chinese parent company ByteDance. It is a requirement to allow TikTok to keep operating in the US under a law passed last year seeking to address data privacy and national security concerns.
Trump said TikTok “has tremendous value” and the US “has that value in its hand because we're the ones that have to approve it”.
US officials have been concerned about ByteDance's roots and ownership, pointing to laws in China that require Chinese companies to hand over data requested by the government. Another concern is the proprietary algorithm that populates what users see on TikTok.
Chinese officials said Monday that a consensus was reached on authorisation of the “use of intellectual property rights,” including the algorithm, and that the two sides agreed on entrusting a partner with handling US user data and content security.
Rep Raja Krishnamoorthi, the ranking Democrat on the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, says TikTok's data and algorithm must be “truly in American hands” to comply with the law.
More trade issues on the table
Top US and Chinese officials have held four rounds of trade talks between May and September, with another likely in the coming weeks. Both sides have paused sky-high tariffs and pulled back from harsh export controls, but many issues remain unresolved.
Trump in the call “will likely seek to make it appear that the United States has the upper hand in trade negotiations,” said Ali Wyne, senior research and advocacy adviser on US-China issues at the International Crisis Group.
Xi “will likely seek to underscore China's economic leverage and warn that continued progress in bilateral relations will hinge on an easing of US tariffs, sanctions and export controls,” Wyne said.
No deals have been announced on tech export restrictions, Chinese purchases of US agricultural products or fentanyl. The Trump administration has imposed additional 20% tariffs on Chinese goods linked to allegations that Beijing has failed to stem the flow to the US of the chemicals used to make opioids.
Trump's second-term trade war with Beijing has cost US farmers one of their top markets. From January through July, American farm exports to China fell 53% compared with the same period last year. The damage was even greater in some commodities: US sorghum sales to China, for instance, were down 97%.
Josh Gackle, chairman of the American Soybean Association, said he would be following the outcome of Friday's call because China, the biggest foreign buyer of US beans, has paused purchases for this year's new crop.
“There's still time. It's encouraging that the two countries continue to talk,” Gackle said. “I think there's frustration growing at the farmer level that they haven't been able to reach a deal yet.”
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Ordinance issued to increase number of Supreme Court judges from 34 to 38
New Delhi (PTI): The government has promulgated an ordinance to increase the strength of the Supreme Court from the present 34 judges to 38, including the Chief Justice of India.
The law ministry notified the ordinance on Saturday, which amended the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, 1956, to increase the sanctioned strength of the top court.
So far, the sanctioned strength of the top court was 34, including the Chief Justice of India (CJI). Now, the number of judges has been increased by four, taking the sanctioned strength to 38.
The top court will now have 37 judges, other than the CJI.
With the apex court having two vacancies at present, and the ordinance coming into force immediately, the Supreme Court Collegium will now have to recommend six names for appointment as judges in the top court.
A bill will be brought in the Monsoon Session of Parliament to convert the ordinance – an executive order – into a law passed by Parliament.
The Union Cabinet had cleared a draft bill on May 5 to increase the number of apex court judges.
The strength of the Supreme Court was last increased from 30 to 33 (excluding the CJI) in 2019.
The Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, as originally enacted in 1956, put the maximum number of judges (excluding the CJI) at 10.
This number was increased to 13 by the Supreme Court (Number of Judges), Amendment Act, 1960, and to 17 by another amendment to the law.
The Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Act, 1986, augmented the strength of judges from 17 to 25, excluding the CJI.
A fresh amendment in 2009 further increased the strength from 25 to 30.
Article 124(3) of the Constitution lists the qualifications required to become a Supreme Court judge.
An Indian citizen who has either served as a high court judge for at least five years, or as an advocate for 10 years, or is a distinguished jurist, can be appointed to the top court.
The strength of the Supreme Court is increased based on the recommendations of the CJI, who writes to the Union law minister. After consulting the finance ministry, the Department of Justice under the law ministry moves the Cabinet with a draft bill.
