Hello and welcome to World Today, I am Ding Hen in Beijing.
Coming up.
Xi Jinping calls for efforts to build the Xiongan New Area into a model of high-quality development.
And we will explore why China's EU saw a more than 50 increase in trade in the first two months of 2026.
Trump says he is postponing attacks on Iran's power plants.
The European Union and Australia signed free trade deal in efforts to diversify their trading networks.
To listen to this episode again or to catch up on previous episodes, you can download our podcast by searching World Today.
First up.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has called for efforts to build the Xiongan New Area into an innovation hub and a model for high-quality development.
He made the remark during a tour of the Xiongan New Area in Hebei province.
The Chinese leader emphasized the efforts to relieve Beijing of functions that are non-essential to the city's role as China's capital city and integrate them into the new area.
He also called on Xiong'an to cultivate clusters of emerging industries and pioneer the implementation of innovation policies in science and technology, finance and other fields.
Xi Jinping also said that Xiongan should create a market-oriented and law-based business environment that is up to international standards.
So for more, joining us now on the line is Ina Tengen, Senior Fellow with the Centre for International Governance Innovation, a Canadian think tank.
So thank you very much for joining us today, aina.
Um, i mean, it's been almost nine years since the xiong'an new area was established and so far more than 4 000 beijing origin companies have been reportedly relocated to xiong'an and more than 400 centrally administered SOEs state-owned enterprises have set their branches in the new area.
How do you look at this development?
Well, this was an ambitious project.
What happened is in the city planning, and this is what China is famous for.
They decided that they wanted to put a lot of the municipal functions outside of Beijing.
And then they were going to create a new area that was going to be high-tech development and also a lot of state-owned enterprises.
And they wanted to concentrate them there, in this new area, so that Beijing itself would not get overcrowded.
I had a chance to talk to the planners of Beijing back in 2010.
And I remember at the time I said oh gee, you know, the streets are pretty crowded and everything like that.
They looked at me and said, well, we had planned for 15 and we have 22 million people.
So that's why it wasn't so much a failure of our planning.
It's just that the number of people exceeded what we had thought would happen.
So they have been taking measures to alleviate that kind of traffic.
Beijing is still going to be the heart of the government.
But other outside functions, SOEs, things like that, they don't have to be.
Right next to government are being pushed out there.
At the national level, they'll be going to the new area.
And for the local level, they'll be going out just outside of Beijing.
So what do you see as the key to nurturing an innovative business environment in Xiong'an?
OK, so the reason I came to China many, many years ago is I was very much involved in city planning and city administration.
But in America and even in Europe, cities are something you just manage.
You don't create new ones.
I was fascinated by the fact that China was creating new ones, and it led me to write some books on Chinese cities.
And, you know, you can take, for instance, Shenzhen. why is Shenzhen so successful?
Because it was a mixture of planning and policies opening up a new area.
It was once a fishing village.
I don't think there's more than 500 people there.
And now it's, I think it's 18, 20 million people.
And it's a real workhorse.
So much innovation is going on there.
Why?
Because when they plan it, they take the hardware, which is the city itself.
They made it extremely livable.
They put in a very ordered society and made sure that all the pieces work.
And then the software, which is the policies that they had to attract companies.
Obviously being close to Hong Kong, having access to the world.
These were very important considerations in terms of locating the city there.
So this is how China does it, and that's exactly what they're doing with the new area they are making sure that it's going to be concentrated in the areas that they want to see high-tech development.
So, for instance, a lot of these state-owned enterprises, these are groups that can stand ready when companies get their financing, especially these VC financing.
The companies themselves want to exit fairly soon three to five years and there's sometimes just not enough time to develop a company or the product or technology.
So you want to have a place to put them and this is where state-owned enterprises can be basically incubators, with a slightly longer term in terms which to develop these products and services, etc.
So that's, that's part of it, but the concentration, the ability to do things in one area.
For instance, I did a book about Kunshan.
At the time almost 80 of all the laptops in the world were made there.
So that gives you an idea.
And the reason why is because everything you need to make a laptop was literally across the street or around the corner.
And that made the new cycles of developing new products extremely, extremely efficient.
Yeah.
For the sake of our listeners, Kunshan is located near Shanghai or adjacent with Shanghai.
It's actually in Suzhou, but it's right on the line of Shanghai.
And in fact, there is a subway that takes you right into Kunshan.
Exactly.
So it's interesting that earlier, I know you also mentioned about the development of Shenzhen.
I mean, several decades ago, Shenzhen was still just a small fishing village in southern China.
And fast forward to Xinhua New Area.
The construction of Xiongan is being done also upon a stretch of raw land, rather than any existing city with existing economic resources.
So do you believe it can become a model of high-quality development in China?
What advantages does the new area of Xiongan enjoy compared to a scenario where, for example, an existing city wants to seek new development?
Well, this is the thing.
This is different.
Sometimes within China because it's so huge.
I mean you have provinces that are larger than most countries in the world.
You do have competition between different areas, but that's good.
But in each place, they make sure that it's complete, as I was talking about with Kunshan.
I mean you have a complete environment so that it kind of nurtures and supports the kind of industries that you want to do, especially when you're talking about new, unknown industries.
Remember, we don't know the new materials yet that are going to be developed, the new services that are going to be needed.
These are all going to be in the future.
So you build the infrastructure.
It's like the Belt and Road Initiative.
Then you can start to take advantage of the trading opportunities and things like that.
So when people talk about oh, new land well, nine years, even when they were getting this project, they did a very, very thorough analysis of the land.
It was carefully selected for its beauty, its location.
And they said, okay, this is a good place to put a city.
They looked at how much water, vegetation.
They planned the streets very, very carefully to meet the needs of the people.
So this is a model city.
Existing cities, you deal with them the way they are.
Within the second ring road of Beijing...
Most of the things are still Hutongs.
I mean, they're very quaint and they're wonderful, but they're not necessarily modern.
You can't get two cars going down the same alleyway.
So these are cities that are custom built for the future.
And this is exactly why planning plays such an important role in this.
So nine years has been preparation.
And I expect, given the interest the central government has put in this, you're going to see a lot more activity as they try to push it now.
This is going to be a model uh for this.
Uh, you know that new development uh idea, these high-tech services and new, new high-quality development forces.
It's not a completely new idea, but it's a new emphasis.
So having somewhere where you can say this is how you do it then becomes a model.
Remember, china likes to do things in a smaller area contained.
Basically, they sandbox it so that they can see how it's developing, what needs to be adjusted.
Then once it's a successful model, it then turns around and it will export that model to the rest of not only China.
But if it's very good, they invite people to come and take a look at it from other countries and to emulate what they can.
And this is how China is sharing its development.
It's not trying to say, you have to come to us.
It is really about how do we build a future of mankind.
Yeah.
Should we worry about potential degradation of the natural environment in the Xinhua New Area as it goes ahead to pursue say development including, I guess, urbanization?
No, I don't think that's a problem, once again because of the amount of planning that's gone into it.
I talked to a Engineers who are working on the area and they talked about how carefully they were designing all the systems.
It was a sponge city.
It's not supposed to draw off or a water.
It's supposed to be self sustainable and this is something very important.
I mean, China has introduced this idea of the environment. that we're in is a right.
It's a part of the code.
It's like the civil code.
You have the right to uh, you know to to have law govern your property, but also your environment.
So this is a good opportunity to show how China envisions that and how it works.
So there will not, if there is any kind of adjustments that are needed, they will be made.
But I can tell you there's been so much planning that's been put into this and um.
As with most things that China does over the long term it generally tends to work out.
Thank you very much for joining us.
Ina Tengen, Senior Fellow of the Center for International Governance Innovation, a Canadian think tank.
This is World Today.
Stay tuned.
You are listening to World Today.
I'm Ding Han in Beijing.
A senior official with the AIPAC Secretariat has described China's southern Hainan Free Trade Port as a key testing ground for regional connectivity and liberalization amid rising global economic uncertainty.
AIPAC Executive Director Eduardo Pedrosa made a comment when attending the annual Boao Forum for Asia, which kicked off on Tuesday.
Speaking with my colleague, Song Ruixin Pagosa also noted that some of the new frameworks, like the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement, shows that cooperation in the region is still moving forward.
Mr Pedrosa, you're joining us here in Boao, a platform that, for 25 years, has focused on Asia, integration and global cooperation.
As you look out at this year's Boao agenda, what are the most interesting intersections between the discussions happening here and the priorities for APAC on China's 2026 host year?
Well, first of all, thank you so much for having me here on your show today.
Definitely, it's an extremely important time for the region and for the global economy.
We're still not sure what the final trajectory will be, but cooperation is essential to ensuring that growth continues and that we can continue to create jobs and innovate in our economies.
But the first issue that I think APEC and BOAL have in common is the trading system.
We're going through this transition time And this is a great opportunity for regional economies to discuss their own views on what the future will be and how to ensure that the multinational trading system continues to innovate, reform and address those issues of central concern to businesses and people.
The second area of intersection is on innovation.
We see a very strong focus this year at Boal on innovation.
This is something that apec has focused on for many years.
Last year in korea, there was an ai initiative, and this is to make sure that the way we approach ai in apec is aligned and that everyone can benefit from it.
As you know, there are large differences in access to the internet, So we need to make sure that everyone has that and if we can all benefit from AI.
So this is a rare opportunity to bring all of the sort of greatest minds from the Asia Pacific together to think about what direction do we want the region to take?
And this is important because, as you know, Asia has been a growth engine for the global economy.
Without that engine, we really do risk a global slowdown.
And so that at this point in time is critical for us and critical for the whole world.
That's a very helpful big picture view.
And if we bring it a little bit closer to the ground here in China.
In a previous interview I've noticed that you mentioned that you looked forward to drawing insights from China's 15th Five-Year Plan and the country's experience in connectivity and trade structure.
So, now that you are here in Hainan, where the island has begun its special customers operations, already has this visit deepen your understanding of China's experience with institutional opening.
Well, one thing that I always remember or think of about China's own economic development since the 1980s is the idea of crossing the river by feeling the stones.
So Hainan is is one of those opportunities where we look at how we're crossing that river.
And so Hainan as a free trade zone moving towards the digital economy gives an opportunity for us to understand what liberalization and connectivity means for all of us today.
I wasn't sure about this, but I was informed that Hainan is actually a visa-free sort of area so that we can experiment on people-to-people connectivity.
There's, of course, the free trade zone, and there's also the customs duty free trade zone.
So again, these are new initiatives that I think we can all learn from.
As for China's economic development plans over the future, I really think it's important to remember that China now is the second largest consumer economy in the world.
That hasn't been the case.
And so that's another potential driver of growth.
Over the past history of APEC, for example, China's incomes per capita were relatively low, around 3000 a year.
Now it's closer to $15,000. thousand dollars.
So this means that there's a very large consumer base in China that can also drive the economy, in addition to the sort of manufacturing that China is well known for.
But another part of this is the focus on innovation.
We're seeing a huge amount of innovation in China, which is something that can be harnessed for future growth, but not just for China, but for the rest of Asian and global economies.
I think we see here today, for example, the electric vehicles.
China has been able to produce this as a mass scale because of their large market.
And now we have the innovation to ensure that this can be adopted around the whole world and an opportunity to lower our carbon emissions.
But it looks like the direction of trade is far less certain.
So if we look at the global trade, which is continuing to face protectionist pressures.
And Boao has scheduled discussions on the impact of tariff tensions and the reshaping of global trade.
You once made a memorable point that is watch out for cooperation.
We don't expect it.
So how can we understand this idea?
Well, I think we need to bear in mind that, while there is a lot of news about protectionism and raising tariffs, global trade actually continues.
It's at unprecedented levels.
Some of that can be price effects, but there is more global trade happening.
There is more integration.
But the surprise...
I think we can look forward to, or as possible, is that we are seeing new initiatives that are coming out.
APEC, of course, continues to work at the technical level, bringing experts together to think through how technologies like artificial intelligence can be spread around the whole age-specific and beyond.
But in addition to all of those, we have... coalitions of the willing, if you like.
So we have, of course, the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership, or the CPTPP.
So again, this is initially started amongst four APEC members, but now it's expanded.
It's expanded so much that it's called Trans-Pacific but the United Kingdom has joined.
So I think that shows how cooperation can surprise.
Another area of great importance is the digital economy.
So groups of APEC member economies have formed the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement.
So that's where the surprises are that when you have a forum like APEC, it's non-binding, it looks towards being an incubator of ideas.
New initiatives can come through that lead to further cooperation.
So, based on the atmosphere at APAC's first senior officials meeting earlier this year and what you are hearing here in Boao, which specific areas you think would hold the most potential for that kind of unexpected cooperation in 2026?
Well, the first thing that I want to emphasize is that there was very broad support for China's priorities this year on openness, innovation and cooperation.
That's very important to note that, in spite of the tensions and volatility that we face, APEC continues to be perceived as a valuable platform for all of its members.
But looking at areas of overlap For openness, for example, there's a lot of discussion here at Boal on what is the future of trade.
How do we come together during this period of uncertainty and volatility?
So an important work program that APEC does. of the Asia-Pacific.
Let me emphasize that the idea of an area.
So we'll be having a lot of discussions about existing free trade agreements, including the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, but also the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership.
APEC provides a platform for information sharing about these agreements and how they can eventually be aligned to ensure that goods and services flow smoothly across the entire region.
Secondly, on innovation, a lot of economies around the Asia-Pacific are looking towards how innovation can drive future growth.
And APEC is into looking at the next phase of its work program.
So we'll see what APEC members eventually decide.
But, as we've already discussed, artificial intelligence is a major issue for all of the regional economies.
But we also know that there are also large digital divides.
So there's very high internet penetration in certain economies, including China, including where I live in Singapore.
But there are other economies that don't have that.
So that's really important to look through that.
But there's also other issues, more related, I think, to the idea of cooperation, but connected to it.
So we talk about AI, we talk about its importance, but we also know that AI consumes a lot of electricity.
It's a very energy intensive technology.
So how do we share best practices in the use of AI?
How can we make sure that it's more sustainably used?
And what are the different sources of energy that we can use to ensure that AI can be used by everyone?
Okay, you talked about APAC is entering its new next phase, right?
Then, for this year, includes a dedicated session on revitalizing APAC toward the vision of an Asia Pacific community.
I heard lots and lots of people saying that APAC is now at a critical stage in implementing the Putrajaya vision 2040.
So in your view, what does revitalization mean for APAC today?
Well, the first thing that I really need to emphasize is what's good about APEC is we have a built-in concept of review and revitalization.
So this year is the first five-year review of the collective actions towards the achievement of the Putrajaya vision and the objectives in what we call the Aitaroa plan of action, or how we're going to achieve that vision.
So it provides us with a great opportunity to look at the work that we have done and identify the areas of work that we need to do over the next five years.
In terms of revitalizing APEC.
This is a really important time, and APEC is.
The need for an organization like AIPAC is more important than it's ever been.
That was Eduardo Pedroza, Executive Director with the AIPAC Secretariat, talking with my colleague Song Ruixin.
More to come.
President Donald Trump says he is delaying attacks on Iranian power plants.
You're listening to World Today.
I'm Ding Han in Beijing.
We'll be back after a very short break.
You're listening to World Today, I'm Ding Han in Beijing.
The eastern Chinese city of Yiwu in Zhejiang province is sending a powerful signal about China's foreign trade momentum this year.
In the first two months of 2026, the small commodities hub recorded a surge of almost 53 in foreign trade.
Exports rose by 52.9%, while imports were up by 52.6%.
Africa became the city's biggest market during that period, with trade to the continent rising by nearly 85.
Trade with ASEAN countries also expanded by nearly 100%.
Yiwu is known as the world's supermarket for small commodities.
For more on this.
My colleague Zhao Yang spoke with Dr Zhou Mi, a senior research fellow with the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation.
So Dr Zhou Mi Yiwu is known as the world's hub for small commodities, but a more than 50 surge of foreign trade is really extraordinary, especially under the current global uncertainties.
So how do you explain this trade increase momentum?
What are the main factors driving the surge?
Well yeah, if you're looking at the general terms of the trade, I mean for the China's national wide it's increased almost 20.
So I think that the first two months of this year is really a reflection about China's status and positions in the global supply chains.
We know last year.
We are seeing that so many uncertainties coming from the United States, which is a cumulative effect about the trade.
So more countries and trading partners are trying to find better connections with China, with a certain supply and very good condition of the quality of the products.
So, Yiwu is also one of the very important symbols.
If you are looking at the structure of the Yiwu trade well, we are seeing that Yiwu has a lot of new trading partners among its main partners.
It's a increased increased more than 20 percent of the trade compared with last year.
Well, for some new trading partners, it's increased even more.
So the trade are just the represent, uh you know, what the countries, the market and the industry really need from each other.
So you is uh, you know uh, very uh performing very uh significant because that they represent the, the ways of doing business in an uncertain world and in much more affordable ways and more resilient.
And as you mentioned, it's tied to China's broader export recovery this year.
But for more than 50 increase in imports passing through Yiwu.
What types of products are driving this growth?
Well, the imports are really diversified.
If you're looking at the data of Yiwu, I think that's the most driving force is coming from the consumption products.
The consumption is one of the areas that many countries are doing.
So, you know, in the past several years, we are seeing many Chinese companies doing B&Ts abroad.
They're investing in the ASEAN countries.
They really are able to accumulate the abilities to do some performance, like producing the products, the consumptions, like the clothing, the shoes and furniture, electronics.
We are seeing that the Chinese market is getting stronger.
And as we are lowering our tariffs for import, we are getting more tariff free or zero tariff policies to our trading partners.
More countries are able to produce and provide more consumption products to China.
Well, on the other hand, I would say that some of the agricultural products, like the avocados from Africa or any other aquatic products from many countries countries, really came to China from Latin America, from ASEAN countries.
So the imports are really diversified.
But I think that they also follow the route of the trade and it's more balanced, not just for export.
They can come back as the same route and it will have a better supply to the Chinese market.
And we've seen trade with Africa grew nearly 85% in the first two months of this year.
So why is Africa now Yiwu's biggest market?
Africa is growing in China's general map of trade.
I think that the mutual understanding and the mutual benefits for both sides are really the basis for the cooperation.
Well, for Yiwu, Yiwu is one of the most popular cities for African friends to come to China.
So you can see that they really need more supply of China's products.
So they can come here to enjoy this resilience and much more competitive products from China, and they also are going to have a better supply in certain kinds of things.
Like I mentioned, the beef, the agricultural products, some fruits, some of these crops.
So these are, the bridges between China and African countries are not just the EU, but in other provinces like Hunan for you, because they do have a very good, very sound supply ecosystems like the insurance logistics, some of the agent of the custom clearance.
They benefit even more from that.
So, according to the different method, i think that market purchasing is one of the main ways of businesses when we're talking about the trade between you and african countries.
So these companies, they can represent certain parts of these traders.
They can do it together to enjoy the policies by Chinese government, and that will speed up their ways of logistics and make the transaction in the lower cost.
And trade with ASEAN countries jumped almost 100%.
So what explains such explosive growths?
Well, I would say that it is true that some companies are really afraid of the uncertainties, especially between China and the United States.
So they want to try to find some kind of alternatives in other countries.
It is happening.
But it's not just the main reasons why we are seeing the surge.
I think the main reason is coming from the relation between China and other countries are getting stronger.
With the help of the RCEP and also the China at the end free trade agreement version 30, we are seeing that the relations between these two partners are getting stronger and there are more vertical allocation along the industrial chains and more innovation based Technology and products are being traded between these two parts, which has injected very strong forces for the trade between China and ASEAN countries.
And now we are seeing foreign trade business model changes.
So are the small and medium-sized exporters in Yiwu benefiting from e-commerce platforms and digital trade.
Well, definitely in my understanding that e-commerce is the best way for the small and the medium-sized enterprises to be involved in the global trade, because they don't have enough strength for establishing their own channel for the trade.
And it takes really professional knowledge and the skills to deal with the trade, especially when the tariffs and other requirements are changing so rapidly.
So for the e-commerce, the platform is giving the support to the stakeholders, the SMEs, and strengthen its abilities on acquiring the information from the market and strengthening the cooperation with other countries.
I mean enterprises in other countries.
So the e-commerce and the digital technology make it implementable for those companies who want to enjoy the benefits of the global trade, and they really enjoy that.
And Yiwu has long been a barometer for global demand for small commodities.
So, Dr Zhoumi, now with the AI embedded into everyday products, is Yiwu, signaling a new phase of consumption driven by smart small commodities.
Definitely.
If you go to Yiwu market, you will find that those areas who are selling the smart products, like some of the toys, some of the electronics, some of these appliances at home,
I think that they are popular.
There are a lot of people going there from other countries trying to buy the things from them.
Well, itself, I mean, the EU market is reshaping, reconstructing the pattern of its market segment.
I think that, according to the technology development, There will be more elements of the smart technology, artificial intelligence-related products and the robots.
I think that they are popular.
They represent one of the directions and also are signals for the technology improvement in the commodity in the small commodity markets.
Dr Zhou Mi, a senior research fellow with the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, speaking with my colleague Zhao Yang.
You are listening to World Today.
Stay tuned.
You're back with World Today, I'm Ding Han in Beijing.
Iran has denied having negotiations with the United States, reversing U.S.
President Donald Trump's claim that Washington had reached major points of agreement with Iran.
Iran's foreign ministry says friendly countries recently sent messages to Iran indicating Washington's desire for talks, but Iran has not responded.
Tehran says there is no change in its position on the Strait of Hormuz and its conditions for ending the war.
Earlier, President Donald Trump said he had ordered a five-day delay of planned strikes on Iranians' power facilities, adding that there had been good and productive conversations aimed at easing tensions in the region.
Some media reports are suggesting that the United States and Iran could hold negotiations in Pakistan as early as this week.
So joining us now on the line is Professor Wang Jing from Northwest University in Xi'an, China.
Thank you very much for joining us.
It's my great pleasure.
So, first of all, Dr Wang, how would you look at this?
You know, mixed or even contradictory messages from President Donald Trump and from Tehran.
I think we cannot deny the kind of the possibilities that there will be some kind of possible talks ongoing between the United States and Iran, because I think There may be some.
But we maybe have the different definitions because if we looking at the wars it has sort of been lasted for nearly four weeks without any major breakthrough.
And for each party I mean Iran on the one side and the United States and Israel on the other side.
They actually have the kind of the feeling that if the war continues, nothing further breakthrough will come out.
So it means that for the latest developments I think we may seek some opportunities and chances for the negotiation, the possible dialogues.
Maybe, but I mean maybe, that these dialogues are not so high level, not so very direct away, maybe through the very indirect way, maybe the lower level of the different sides of the officials.
This is much more likely.
So that's why this leads to the kind of the misunderstanding or misinterpretation from the United States understanding okay, now the talks are going and the messages are being transferred and exchanged under the mediation of the third party.
Well, maybe from Iranians' perspective, there was no very official and normal and formal kind of the dialogues between the two sides.
So this may be a misunderstanding.
But I think we will, sooner or later, we will know.
But I think it's very likely that there are some kind of the channels of the messages has been sent.
And maybe there are some kind of the possible exchange of information, exchange of the messages in the future.
Now talking about Iran's perspective.
Do you think Tehran is ready or is willing to engage in serious talks with the United States anytime soon?
I think maybe, let's say maybe there were some possibilities of possible talks and the kind of the peace for achievement resulted from the talks.
I mean, let's be frank.
Maybe that Iran, inside Iran, there were different camps, there were different voices, there were different concerns.
But I think...
For Iran's many rational and very, very highly rational officials and high levels leaders.
They know exactly that is also.
They have to seek the opportunities for peace.
I don't mean that the peace for Iran, the kind of the concession is a kind of the surrender.
No, it's different things.
But I mean, the peace means that go back to the rationality.
The peace is going back to the very stability and also will benefit Iran, their own economy and their own social stability.
And also for United States.
I think they also have the very strong willingness and the motivations to go back to the stability and go back to the end of the war because, As we always repeatedly stress, the war has continued for nearly four weeks and the United States win nothing and they just have to continue their warfare.
So that's why I think for both United States and Iran, they have the motivations to talk with each other and to seek the possible chances to end the war or kind of decrease the intensity of the war in the future.
Hmm.
Reuters has reported exclusively that, less than 48 hours before the US-Israeli strikes on Iran began on February 28th, Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, spoke by phone to Donald Trump about the reasons for launching the attacks, for launching the strikes.
And we know both Trump and Netanyahu knew at that point from earlier intelligence sources that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and his key lieutenant would meet at his compound in Tehran.
And Netanyahu argued in that phone call with Trump that there might never be a better chance to kill the former Iranian supreme leader.
So, Dr. Wang, in your understanding of this situation, how credible is this report by lawyers?
I think it's likely we cannot deny the possibilities because we don't know what exactly happened.
We have no detailed information, even that we know we cannot express very clearly here.
So that's why I think we cannot deny or we cannot accept the very reality, or maybe the possibility of the reality, behind this report.
But, as you mentioned, I think this is correct because Israel launched the very first strike against the targets inside Iran.
And especially during the first wave of attack launched by Israel, Ali Khamenei was assassinated.
He was killed, unfortunately.
And also, I think, maybe other Iranian senior leaders from both Iranian military forces as well as Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, were also killed.
So that's why maybe Israel chose this moment, based upon their information collection and their kind of information decision about the possibilities of the killing of the Ali Khamenei.
So that's why maybe the report is true.
But we don't know.
We really don't know what exactly the details are.
And, of course, maybe in the future, when the documents are released and maybe more facts are released, I think maybe we'll know more.
And to clarify, the report I cited earlier was conducted based on interviews with unknown sources that the reporter intended to protect, I guess because of the sensitivity of this whole issue.
So the final question, Dr Wang Jing.
Bahrain has submitted a draft UN Security Council resolution that seeks to authorize countries to use force to protect commercial shipping in and around the Strait of Hormuz.
Do you think the UN Security Council is likely to pass this particular resolution?
Let's be frank we don't know, because there were just too many possibilities and also too many uncertainties.
I think what we could be assured is that the Hormuz channel and the security of the ships are still under threat by the war and, of course, largely threatened by Iran.
But also, I think we cannot forget the possibilities of threatens by the United States and maybe Israel, because when the war continues, we cannot blame the only side of Iran.
But we should say that everybody has a responsibility.
But, as you mentioned, when we're talking about the energy channel, and particularly energy transportation channel, it is very crucial to remember we're talking about it against the backdrop of the war.
So when the war continues, I think much more uncertainties will emerge.
That's why I think we should talk about, I think the priority is how to end the war.
And when the war enters the ending phase, I think maybe more possibilities of peace will come back and also the more pieces of of the safety will come back to the horrible streets.
So that's why, finally, it will benefit everybody.
Yeah.
Thank you very much for joining us.
Professor Wang Jing, joining us from Northwest University in Xi'an, China.
Coming up.
The European Union and Australia sign free trade pact in efforts to diversify their trading networks.
This is World Today.
Stay tuned.
Hello, I am Dr Digby James Wren, a political analyst and international relations scholar specializing in China area studies.
World Today offers unmatched in-depth perspectives on China's politics economics business, technology and society.
World Today's team of reporters and contributors provides valuable information from all of the world's major economies.
I hope you can join me on World Today for the very best insights and news from China, on China, and help to build a better understanding of China's role in the world today.
You are listening to World Today.
I'm Ding Hen in Beijing.
Australia and the European Union have finalized a free trade agreement following years of negotiations.
Officials say the deal will lower trade and investment barriers between the two markets after completion of domestic ratifications.
98 of Australia's exports will enter the EU duty-free, while almost all EU tariffs on Australian agricultural products will be eliminated.
Negotiations on this trade deal began in 2018.
They broke down in 2023 because of a dispute over agricultural market access.
The EU represents Australia's third largest trading partner and the second largest source for foreign investment.
So for more.
Joining us now on the line is Professor Cui Hongjian from the Academy of Regional and Global Governance, Beijing Foreign Studies University.
Thank you very much for joining us.
Hi, I'm here.
So, first of all, what do you think has enabled the two parties to make this breakthrough in trade negotiations?
As we know, after several years of negotiation, especially 15 rounds of the negotiation, finally the European Union and Australia reached an agreement on free trade and the investment or some other
Undoubtedly, I think, the current situation, especially because of high tariffs from the United States against not only European Union and also Australia and some other advanced economy,
I think it's a very, very big stimulation.
As we know, only in the year of 2025 the negotiation between European Union and Australia went forward.
I think this stimulation from the United States, from American policy, played a very, very decisive role.
Another, I think very important reason behind this successful reach of the agreement between two sides is now, especially for European Union side, it's trying to get a kind of diversity of supply chain and also the trade and cooperation with more and more economies.
Especially recent years, European Union emphasized the importance to get some more, you know, favorable environment, to get some more, you know, critical material supply.
As we know that Australia played a very important role in international market on some, you know, materials or some other.
So I think it gives anyway very, very pressing force to push forward this reach of agreement between two sides.
Previously, one barrier to the trade deal was a dispute over red meat market access, and another issue was the EU's complaint about certain Australian-made wines that are labeled as Prosecco, which we know is traditionally a name for a sparkling wine from northern Italy.
So why do you think food and drinks and agricultural products were previously a major source of trade disputes between the two sides?
Besides the reason of the, as we know, it's a geographic marks issue.
And I think the main reasons for these negotiations between European Union and Australia faced a lot of problem or barrels from agricultural products or some other.
There are two reasons behind.
One of them is, as we know to some degree the European Union and Australia.
They do have some competitions on the agricultural trade.
As we know, for example, the European countries.
They also export.
You know agricultural products, including wine, including some.
You know pork, or even some meat.
And it seems that seminarily, Australia has a very, very important, you know exports on those agricultural products.
Another, I think very important reason behind the dispute is uh, for both two sides they need to take care response from, you know, farmers from these groups, as we know, because of the demands of elections.
So for both european countries and australia, they have to take care of these concerns from farmers for both sides.
So i think i get some more negotiations, get some more even reasonable compromise between two sides.
I think that's a major situation now.
So one aspect of this particular trade deal will also help the European Union secure its supplies of some critical raw materials.
And this is actually seen by some as an attempt by the two parties, by the two sides, to reduce their economic reliance on China.
Do you see it that way?
I think on one side, it could be understandable for both European Union and Australia to have some more concern about the so-called security of supply chain for some critical materials.
Because, as we know, globally there are a lot of, you know anti-globalization, anti-free trade.
You know situation.
But on the other side, wants to deal with this issue of supply chain of critical materials.
But I don't think it's necessarily to point to China as a main target.
Because, as we know, China always played a very, very active role to support this.
More safety in the supply chain for critical materials.
And even so far.
China has a very, very active policy to support its trade on critical materials with not only Australia and also European Union.
So I think this course from both sides to talk about China on this issue majorly it's from a kind of a political perspective consideration because, as we understand that now for especially european union side, always put a political or even security consideration into any kind of free trade agreement with other economies.
So i think the uh, the economic security is okay, but yeah, it's uh not so fair to draw China into this so-called serious concern about the security issue.
Indeed.
I guess, when we talk about this very fact that Australia and the European Union can ultimately reach a free trade agreement, a lot of global optimism can be really injected into the spirit of free trade at a time when we're seeing really unprecedented challenges to economic globalization.
That's for sure.
But thank you very much for joining us.
Professor Cui Hongjian joining us from Academy of Regional and Global Governance, Beijing Foreign Studies University.
Unfortunately, that's all the time for this edition of World Today.
To listen to this episode again or to catch up on our previous episodes.
You can download our podcast by searching World Today.
I'm Dinghan in Beijing.
Thank you so much for listening.
Bye for now.
