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The grand spectacle unfolding in Tianjin this week—with Vladimir Putin and Narendra Modi flanking Xi Jinping at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit—appears to herald China’s ascendant global leadership. Western commentators are understandably alarmed, viewing this convergence as validation of Beijing’s multipolar world vision and evidence of America’s declining influence under Trump’s disruptive trade policies. But this narrative, compelling as it seems, obscures a more complex reality: Xi’s supposed diplomatic triumph may actually expose China’s strategic limitations rather than demonstrate its growing strength. Fragility behind the facade Consider the circumstances that brought Modi to Tianjin. India’s Prime Minister isn’t there…

Despite a July slowdown, BYD retains its lead in China’s competitive EV market.Anna Barclay | Getty Images News | Getty ImagesHong Kong-listed shares of BYD slid nearly 8% Monday after the Chinese electric vehicle maker reported a sharp drop in quarterly profit amid an aggressive price war across its domestic industry.The Tesla rival on Friday reported net profit of 6.36 billion yuan ($891 million) for the April-June quarter, down about 30% from a year earlier, according to data from LSEG.The results came despite an expansion in overseas sales, which helped the company’s revenue grow 14% year over year to about 201…

An employee packages garments for the online Chinese e-commerce company Temu at a clothing factory in Guangzhou, in southern China’s Guangdong province on April 16, 2025. Jade Gao | Afp | Getty ImagesChina’s manufacturing activity unexpectedly returned to growth in August on the back of a recovery in new orders and export business, a private survey showed Monday, helped by an extended trade-war truce with the U.S.The RatingDog manufacturing purchasing managers’ index came in at 50.5, sharply beating estimates of 49.7 from economists polled by Reuters.The gauge signaled the fastest rate of expansion since March, rebounding from July’s 49.5. A…

TIANJIN, China (AP) — Chinese President Xi Jinping said China would accelerate the building of a SCO development bank at the annual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in Tianjin on Monday, as he seeks to expand the organization’s influence and scope. “Currently, as the global situation becomes more complex and turbulent, member states are facing more arduous safety and development responsibilities,” Xi said in opening remarks to the forum. Xi pledged $1.4 billion in loans in the next three years for members of the SCO, not specifically designated for this new bank.Xi, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Indian Prime Minister…

HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — In Hanoi, Vietnam, balconies hold the city’s layers.French villas lean out with wrought-iron rails. Socialist-era blocks offer concrete ledges, some with cracked walls or missing window panes. New towers push out glass terraces toward the sky. A Vietnamese national flag flies outside a home in the old quarter of Hanoi, Vietnam, Sunday, Aug. 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian) A Vietnamese national flag flies outside a home in the old quarter of Hanoi, Vietnam, Sunday, Aug. 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)Read More Vietnamese national flags decorate a balcony in the old quarter of Hanoi, Vietnam, Sunday, Aug.…

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — An earthquake destroyed numerous villages in eastern Afghanistan, killed at least 620 people and injured more than 1,300, a spokesman for the Taliban government said Monday. The 6.0 magnitude quake late Sunday hit a series of towns in the province of Kunar, near the city of Jalalabad in neighboring Nangahar province, causing extensive damage. Footage from Nangarhar showed people frantically digging through rubble with their hands, searching for loved ones in the dead of night. The injured were stretchered out of collapsed buildings and into helicopters. Villagers in Kunar gave interviews outside their wrecked homes.The quake…

Cargo containers are stacked at the Jakarta International Container Terminal in Tanjung Priok Port, Jakarta, on August 7, 2025, as the United States begins enforcing a new 19 percent tariff on Indonesian imports. Yasuyoshi Chiba | Afp | Getty Images As if the ever-changing trade mandates from U.S. President Donald Trump weren’t hard enough for companies, here comes a new complication: the federal appeals court.On Friday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled that Trump’s imposition of “reciprocal” tariffs on countries, as well as those on China, Canada and Mexico ostensibly in relation to fentanyl trafficking, was an…

Liverpool and Newcastle have agreed a British-record transfer for Alexander Isak.Sky Sports News understands Liverpool will pay a fixed fee of £125m for the striker, who is now expected to complete his move to Anfield on Deadline Day. Isak is expected to sign a six-year deal with Liverpool and begin his medical on Monday morning.The deal eclipses the £115m Chelsea paid Brighton for Moises Caicedo in the summer of 2023.Liverpool had a bid of £110m plus add-ons rejected for Isak at the start of August as Newcastle were unwilling to sell their star man without certain conditions being met. Please use Chrome browser…

This photo gallery highlights some of the most compelling images from around the world made or published by The Associated Press in August. This gallery was curated by U.S. Photo Assignment Manager Kii Sato in Chicago and global photo desk editor Shuji Kajiyama in Tokyo. Don’t just read the news, view it with AP Photos. Firefighters battle the Pickett Fire in the Aetna Springs area of Napa County, California, Aug. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Noah Berger) Firefighters battle the Pickett Fire in the Aetna Springs area of Napa County, California, Aug. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)Read More Local residents and volunteers…

Dwayne Johnson takes a serious turn as UFC fighter Mark Kerr in “The Smashing Machine,” which has its world premiere Monday at the Venice Film Festival.Reviews aren’t out yet, but the actor is already sparking Oscar buzz for his transformation in the film from Benny Safdie. The festival has launched several recent best actor Oscar winners, from Brendan Fraser in “The Whale” to Adrien Brody in “The Brutalist.” Like both of those films, “The Smashing Machine” is being released by A24.Venice’s artistic director Alberto Barbera said he wouldn’t be surprised to see Johnson, who he called “absolutely amazing” in the…