Alibaba sues Pentagon, rare earth truce tested, Taiwan arms: 7 US-China relations reads

Alibaba sues Pentagon, rare earth truce tested, Taiwan arms: 7 US-China relations reads From China grappling with Trump to the world’s fastest computer: highlights from our overseas correspondents in the second half of June 2026 1. Trump thinks he is playing hardball. But China is playing Trump: analysts As the summit between Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump fades in the rear-view mirror, marked by anaemic deliverables, poor transparency and missed opportunities, analysts and former US officials pointed to another disappointment: the world’s most consequential relationship has become inordinately dependent on the two nations’ top leaders. 2. Pentagon sued by Alibaba over ‘arbitrary’ military blacklist targeting Chinese firms Chinese technology and e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding sued the US Department of Defence in June, seeking to be removed from a blacklist of companies deemed to support China’s military. 3. ‘China Initiative 2.0’: US crackdown on Chinese scholars intensifies Leading immigration lawyers and activists said the US government had intensified its crackdown on Chinese scientists and researchers – a campaign they argued was even more aggressive than the controversial “China Initiative” launched during Trump’s first term. [Image text:] Alibaba.com