Hong Kong
CNN
 — 

Chinese leader Xi Jinping has not spoken to US President Donald Trump on the phone recently, Beijing said Monday, reiterating that no talks are taking place between the two countries to resolve their tariff war.

The statement from a Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson is an outright rejection of Trump’s claim in an interview with Time magazine last week that Xi had called him, as the world’s two largest economies remain locked in a dispute over sky-high trade levies.

“As far as I know, there has been no recent phone call between the two heads of state,” Guo Jiakun told a regular news conference. “I want to reiterate that China and the United States are not engaged in consultations or negotiations on the tariff issue.”

China has maintained its tough public stance on the trade war even as Trump softened his tone last week, saying that astronomical US tariffs on Chinese goods will “come down substantially” and promising to be “very nice” at the negotiating table as he attempts to get Xi to initiate talks.

“He’s called. And I don’t think that’s a sign of weakness on his behalf,” Trump said, referring to Xi, in the Time interview published on Friday.

Trump, who has repeatedly referred to Xi as a “friend,” did not offer specifics in the Time interview on the content of the purported call with the Chinese leader or when it took place – nor did he elaborate when pressed by CNN on Friday.

“I don’t want to comment on that, but I’ve spoken to him many times,” Trump said in response to CNN’s Alayna Treene when leaving the South Lawn at the White House.

According to publicly available records, the last time the two leaders spoke by phone was on January 17, days before Trump’s inauguration for his second term.

Since last week, Trump has repeatedly said that his administration is talking with Chinese officials to strike a trade deal – only to be met with flat denials from Beijing each time.

On Friday, hours before Trump’s interview with Time was published, China’s Foreign Ministry urged the US not to “mislead the public” on trade negotiations between the two sides.

Trump’s apparent willingness to deescalate the trade war has been brushed off by Beijing, which has instead demanded the US remove all tariffs on China.

Since returning to the White House, Trump has imposed levies of 145% on Chinese goods, though he exempted imports of electronics such as smartphones and computers from his so-called “reciprocal” tariffs.

China has raised tariffs on US imports to 125%, but it has also quietly rolled back the levies on some semiconductors made in the United States, according to import agencies, as Beijing tries to soften the blow of the trade war on its all-important tech industry.

New Delhi and Islamabad
CNN
 — 

Relations between India and Pakistan are cratering following a deadly militant attack in Indian-administered Kashmir that has sparked tit-for-tat reprisals and raised fears of another military escalation between the nuclear-armed rivals.

India and Pakistan both control parts of Kashmir but claim it in full, and have fought three wars over the mountainous territory. In 2019, Indian jets bombed targets inside Pakistan after a cross-border militant attack killed at least 40 Indian paramilitary personnel in its part of Kashmir.

All but one of the 26 tourists massacred in the attack on April 22 were Indian citizens. New Delhi swiftly pointed the finger at Pakistan, downgraded ties and suspended its participation in a crucial water-sharing treaty.

Pakistan has denied involvement and said that any attempt to stop or divert water belonging to Pakistan would be considered an act of war.

As tensions escalate, India’s navy said it launched test missile strikes in a show of strength.

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi has vowed to pursue the attackers “to the ends of the earth,” while the United Nations has called on the neighbors to exercise “maximum restraint.”

Here’s what you need to know.

Gunmen opened fire on sightseers in a popular travel destination in the mountainous destination of Pahalgam in Indian-administered Kashmir.

At least 25 Indian citizens and one Nepali national were killed in the massacre, which unfolded in a valley only accessible by foot or on horseback.

Eyewitnesses described scenes of horror as the gunmen approached, opening fire on tourists from close range.

Some recalled how the men among the group were singled out and shot at. Other survivors told local media the gunmen accused some of the victims of supporting Prime Minister Modi.

Modi’s Hindu-nationalist government revoked Muslim-majority Kashmir’s constitutional autonomy in 2019, bringing it under the direct control of New Delhi, sparking widespread protests.

Kashmir has been a flashpoint in India-Pakistan relations since both countries gained their independence from Britain in 1947.

The two nations to emerge from the bloody partition of British India – Hindu-majority India and Muslim-majority Pakistan – both claim Kashmir in full and, months after becoming independent, fought their first of three wars over the territory.

The divided region is now one of the most militarized places in the world.

For decades, several domestic militant groups, demanding either independence for Kashmir or for the area to become part of Pakistan, have fought Indian security forces, in violence that has killed tens of thousands. India says those groups are supported by Pakistan, which Islamabad denies.

Modi’s government has said that militancy has declined since the revocation of Kashmir’s autonomy in 2019. Analysts say the Pahalgam massacre has shattered that message.D

It is not clear who is responsible for the Pahalgam attack.

A relatively new militant outfit called Kashmir Resistance, also known as The Resistance Front (TRF), initially claimed responsibility on social media but it has reportedly since walked back that claim, according to multiple local media reports.

CNN could not independently verify the initial claim, nor the subsequent withdrawal, and has reached out to the Indian army and police in Indian-administered Kashmir for comment.

India has classified TRF as a “terrorist organization” and linked it to the outlawed Islamist group Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LeT), which was behind the deadly Mumbai attacks in 2008 and has a much higher profile.

Two days after the massacre, police in Indian-administered Kashmir published notices naming three LeT suspects allegedly involved in the attack. Two of the three are Pakistani nationals, according to the notices.

They did not say how the men were identified.

How have India and Pakistan responded?

India has justified its retaliatory moves as a response to Pakistan’s alleged “support for cross-border terrorism.”

New Delhi has closed a key border crossing and further restricted already limited visas for Pakistani citizens. It also expelled military, naval and air advisers from the Pakistani High Commission in New Delhi.

Additionally, it suspended its role in the Indus Water Treaty, an important water-sharing pact between India and Pakistan that has been in force since 1960 and is regarded as a rare diplomatic success story between the two fractious neighbors.

The enormous Indus River system, which supports hundreds of millions of livelihoods across Pakistan and northern India, originates in Tibet, flowing through China and Indian-controlled Kashmir before reaching Pakistan. The vast volume of water is a vital resource for both countries, and the treaty governs how it is shared.

A Pakistan government statement said any attempt to stop or divert water belonging to Pakistan would be considered an act of war.

Following India’s move, Pakistan said it was suspending trade with India, closing its airspace and expelling Indian diplomats, calling New Delhi’s measures “unilateral, unjust, politically motivated, extremely irresponsible and devoid of legal merit.”

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on April 26 accused New Delhi of leveling “baseless allegations” against Islamabad and said it was “open to participating in any neutral, transparent and credible investigation.”

The next day, India’s navy said it conducted “anti-ship firings” to “revalidate and demonstrate readiness of platforms, systems and crew for long range precision offensive strike,” in a statement on X.

Hong Kong
Reuters
 — 

The first batch of individuals jailed in the landmark Hong Kong national security trial of “47 democrats” accused of conspiracy to commit subversion was freed on Tuesday after being behind bars for more than four years.

Four former pro-democracy lawmakers, including Claudia Mo, Kwok Ka-ki, Jeremy Tam and Gary Fan were driven away from three separate prisons across Hong Kong around dawn. Security was tight with patrols of police officers, and access to some roads to the prisons restricted for hours beforehand.

A Reuters witness outside the maximum security Stanley Prison, where Kwok and Tam were held, was told by a police officer they had left.

Vehicles were also seen leaving the more remote Shek Pik Prison on Lantau Island and a women’s correctional institution at Lo Wu close to the border with mainland China.

Police blocked access to two roads leading to the entrance of Shek Kip Prison, so media could only stand on a bridge next to a reservoir overlooking the ocean-facing facility.

Fan, speaking to the press when he arrived at his home early on Tuesday, said: “I will go back home and reunite with family. Thank you Hong Kongers.”

Philip Bowring, Mo’s husband, said she was calm on her return home and needed time to rest, local media reported.

Since large and sustained pro-democracy protests erupted in Hong Kong for most of 2019, China has cracked down on the democratic opposition as well as liberal civil society and media outlets under sweeping national security laws.

The 47 pro-democracy campaigners were arrested and charged in early 2021 with conspiracy to commit subversion under a Beijing-imposed national law which carried sentences of up to life in prison.

Forty-five of these were convicted following a marathon trial, with sentences of up to 10 years. Only two were acquitted.

All four had been denied bail since being charged and were remanded in custody for nearly two years before the trial kicked off in early 2023. All four had pleaded guilty, and were sentenced to four years and two months imprisonment.

Mo, Kwok and Tam were former members of the Civic Party, once one of Hong Kong’s leading pro-democracy parties, which was disbanded in early 2024 amid the national security crackdown.

Mo resigned from the Civic Party in 2016 and founded the localist group HK First with Fan of the Neo Democrats.

The democrats were found guilty of organizing an unofficial “primary election” in 2020 to select candidates for a legislative election. Prosecutors accused the activists of plotting to paralyze the government by engaging in potentially disruptive acts had they been elected.

Western governments including the US called the trial politically motivated and had demanded the democrats be freed.

Hong Kong and Beijing, however, say all are equal under the national security laws and the democrats received a fair trial.