In quick succession, US President Donald Trump has taken out two of Beijing’s closest allies: Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

The US and China are considering a new mechanism that could potentially oversee economic ties and manage bilateral concerns between the two geoeconomic competitors.

China does not currently plan to invade Taiwan in 2027, the U.S. intelligence community said on Wednesday in an annual report on global threats.

In an era marked by President Donald Trump’s wars and trade turbulence, Chinese leader Xi Jinping is counting on a plan to shield his country from the storm and win its race with the US: driving innovation to transform China into a global tech superpower.

Hours after Donald Trump threatened to expand strikes on Iran and hit Beijing’s strategic partner “very hard,” China’s top diplomat took the stage before the world’s press and declared this could be a defining year for US-China ties.

The United Kingdom, Japan and several other countries have said they have no plans to commit warships to the Strait of Hormuz.

Recent years have brought heightened concern in Western intelligence circles that China could invade the self-governing island of Taiwan as early as next year. But the United States now says an imminent attack is unlikely.

Analysts say China is unlikely to help the U.S. reopen the Strait of Hormuz, and it is probably welcoming a delay in President Donald Trump's Beijing trip