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BEIJING Chinas state-backed mouthpiece Global Times called the Group of Seven (G-7) an anti-China workshop on Monday, after Beijing summoned Japans envoy and berated Britain in a fiery response to statements issued at the weekend G-7 summit in Hiroshima.

A joint communique issued on Saturday singled out China on issues from Taiwan and nuclear arms, to economic coercion and human rights abuses, underscoring the wide-ranging tensions between Beijing and the group of rich countries which includes the United States.

The US is pushing hard to weave an anti-China net in the Western world, Global Times said in an editorial on Monday titled G-7 has descended into an anti-China workshop.

This is not just a matter of brutal interference in Chinas internal affairs and smearing China, but also an undisguised urge for confrontation between the camps.

Beijings foreign ministry said it firmly opposed the G-7 statement, and late on Sunday said it had summoned Japans ambassador to China as part of a pointed protest to the summit host.

Russia, a close ally of China that was also called out in the G-7 statement over its invasion of Ukraine, said the summit was an incubator for anti-Russian and anti-Chinese hysteria.

The communique issued by the G-7 which also includes Canada, France, Germany and Italy mentioned China 20 times, the most in recent years and up from 14 mentions in 2022.

As well as taking issue with G-7 comments on Taiwan, which China claims as its own and says is an internal issue, Beijing also accused the US and its allies of double standards over comments about nuclear build-up and the use of economic leverage.

Despite Beijings reaction, US President Joe Biden said he expected a thaw in frosty relations with China very shortly.

Some analysts, however, see no sign of any immediate easing of tensions, especially given Beijings rapid rebuttal.

Beijings reaction (especially the early timing of its release) underlines that tensions in the region are already quite high and likely to increase further, said Dr Moritz Rudolf, research scholar and fellow at Yale Universitys Paul Tsai China Centre. Japan backlash

Chinas decision to summon Japans ambassador underlined the intensity of its anger, some analysts said.

China Vice-Foreign Minister Sun Weidong summoned the Japanese ambassador to register protests over hype around China-related issues at the G-7 summit over the weekend.

Mr Sun said Japan collaborated with the other countries at the G-7 summit in activities and joint declarations… to smear and attack China, grossly interfering in Chinas internal affairs, violating the basic principles of international law and the spirit of the four political documents between China and Japan, referring to the China-Japan Joint Statement of 1972.

He said Japans actions are detrimental to Chinas sovereignty, security and development interests, and that China is strongly dissatisfied and firmly opposes them.

Japan should correct its understanding of China, grasp strategic autonomy, adhere to the principles of the four political documents between China and Japan, and truly promote the stable development of bilateral relations with a constructive attitude, Mr Sun said.

Mr Hideo Tarumi, Japanese ambassador to China, rebutted that it was natural for the G-7 to refer to issues of common concern as it had done in the past and will continue to do so in the future as long as China does not change its behaviour, according to a read-out.

China should first take positive steps to address those issues of concerns if China demands not to refer to them, Mr Tarumi told Mr Sun, according to the read-out.

Dr Wang Yiwei, an international relations professor at Renmin University in Beijing, described Chinas overall reaction to the G-7 communique as restrained but singled out Japan as particularly provocative.

He referred to Japans pick for the summit venue, Hiroshima, the city flattened by an atomic bomb at the end of World War II, and its push for a joint statement on nuclear disarmament that raised concern about Chinas nuclear arsenal.

The main thing thats happening here is Japan, using its position as the rotating chair, to create an anti-China movement, said Dr Wang.

Among the G-7, Tokyo has also voiced some of the strongest concerns about Chinas muscular rhetoric around Taiwan, the democratic island that sits to the south-west of Japan.

Japans Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said during a Monday morning briefing that the countrys policy towards China has been consistent and that it will insist on matters that are needed and urge responsible behaviour, while taking steps to address concerns and cooperate on common issues.

The Chinese embassy in Britain had earlier asked London to stop slandering and smearing China to avoid further damage to China-Britain relations.

This comes after British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said China represents the worlds greatest challenge to security and prosperity but that other leading economies should not decouple from it after the G-7 summit.

The relevant remarks by the British side are simply parroting words from others and constitute malicious slanders in disregard of the facts. China firmly opposes and strongly condemns this, the embassy statement said. REUTERS More On This Topic G-7 summit: While giving harshest rebuke to China yet, leaders deny wanting to thwart its progress Moscow calls G-7 summit incubator for anti-Russian and anti-Chinese hysteria

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World

Why are airdrops on Gaza so dangerous?

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Why are airdrops on Gaza so dangerous?

The United Nations has condemned airdrops on Gaza, warning they risk killing the starving Palestinians they are intended to help.

Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, and Israel parachuted aid packages into the territory for the first time in months at the weekend amid claims a third of the population has not eaten for days.

But Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner-general for the UN Relief and Work Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA), has said they “will not reverse the deepening starvation” and often do more harm than good.

‘Make or break’ as starvation looms; Middle East latest

“They are expensive, inefficient & can even kill starving civilians,” he wrote in a statement on X.

What is an airdrop – and why are they dangerous?

There are several ways humanitarian agencies and international allies can deliver aid to regions in need – by land, by sea, or by air.

While parachuting in supply packages from planes may look impressive, airdrops are “fraught with problems”, Sky correspondent in Jordan Sally Lockwood says, and often used as a “desperate last resort”.

“Foreign nations know airdrops are a deeply flawed way of delivering aid,” she says.

“Palestinian sources tell us the aid that’s been dropped so far is not reaching the most vulnerable. They are an attempt to get something to a few – often viewed as a desperate last resort. Gaza is at that point.”

A plane drops aid over Gaza City on Sunday. Pic: AP
Image:
A plane drops aid over Gaza City on Sunday. Pic: AP

Air drops land over Gaza City on Sunday. Pic: AP
Image:
Air drops land over Gaza City on Sunday. Pic: AP

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Israel announces ‘tactical pause’ in fighting
Eyewitness: Aid is sitting idle in Gaza

Military analyst Sean Bell says that delivering aid by air is ideally done when planes can land on a runway – but Gaza’s only landing strip in Rafah was shut down in 2021.

The alternative is “very dangerous”, he warns. “Aircraft flying relatively low and slow over a warzone isn’t very clever. When these parcels hit the ground, there’s a significant danger of them hitting people.”

People in Gaza scramble for aid on Saturday. Pic: @ibrahim.st7 via Storyful
Image:
People in Gaza scramble for aid on Saturday. Pic: @ibrahim.st7 via Storyful

Crucially, they can only deliver a fraction of what lorries can.

“The really big issue is aircraft can only deliver one truckload of aid. Gaza needs 500 truckloads a day, so it’s 0.2% of the daily need,” Bell adds.

They also risk falling into the wrong hands and ending up on the black market.

“Some of it has been looted by gangs and is on the black market already,” Lockwood says.

Air drops land in northern Gaza on Sunday. Pic: AP
Image:
Air drops land in northern Gaza on Sunday. Pic: AP

Why are they happening now?

Israel cut off all supplies to Gaza at the beginning of March, reopening some aid centres in May, but with restrictions they said were designed to stop goods being stolen by Hamas militants.

Israeli authorities control the only three border crossings to the strip: Kerem Shalom in the south, Crossing 147 in the centre, and Erez to the north.

Since the current conflict with Hamas began in October 2023, humanitarian agencies and world leaders have repeatedly accused Israel of not allowing enough deliveries through.

Mr Lazzarini says the UN has “the equivalent of 6,000 trucks” in neighbouring Jordan and Egypt “waiting for the green light to get into Gaza”.

Israel says it has commissioned a “one-week scale-up of aid”, having conducted its own airdrops on Saturday.

In a statement over the weekend, the Israeli Defence Forces said it will work with the UN and other aid organisations to ensure aid is delivered but no more details were given.

Meanwhile on Sunday, it began daily 10-hour pauses in fighting in three areas of Gaza to address the deteriorating humanitarian situation.

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Baby Zainab starved to death in Gaza

According to the Hamas-run health ministry, 133 Palestinians had died of malnutrition by then, including 87 children.

Doctors Without Borders warned on Friday that 25% of young children and pregnant women in Gaza are malnourished.

Israel says there is no famine in Gaza.

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Sky’s Sally Lockwood on the runway in Jordan ahead of Gaza aid airdrop

What are in the airdrops and who is behind them?

Air packages are largely being delivered by C-130 planes. Jordan is reported to be using 10 and the UAE eight.

They can carry eight pallets of goods each, weighing around eight tonnes in total, according to Lockwood, who is on the runway at Jordan’s King Abdullah II airbase.

There are no medical supplies in the packages, she says, only dried food, rice, flour, and baby formula.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has said the UK will help with airdrops – but no British aircraft have been seen in Jordan so far.

He will discuss the matter with US President Donald Trump during talks in Scotland on Monday.

The RAF delivered 110 tonnes of aid across 10 drops last year as part of a Jordanian-led international coalition – but it is not clear what level of support will be offered this time.

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Technology

Huawei reclaims No. 1 smartphone spot in China — and Apple returns to growth

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Huawei reclaims No. 1 smartphone spot in China — and Apple returns to growth

The Huawei flagship store and the Apple flagship store at Nanjing Road Pedestrian Street in Shanghai, China, Sept. 2, 2024.

Cfoto | Future Publishing | Getty Images

Huawei reclaimed the top spot in China’s smartphone market in the second quarter of the year, while Apple returned to growth in the country — one of its most critical markets — data released by technology market analyst firm Canalys showed on Monday.

Huawei shipped 12.2 million smartphones in China in the three months ended June, a rise of 15% year on year — equating to 18% market share. It’s the first time Huawei has been the biggest player by market share in China since the first quarter of 2024, according to Canalys.

Apple, meanwhile, shipped 10.1 million smartphones in the quarter in China, up 4% year on year and ranking fifth. It is the first time Apple has recorded growth in China since the fourth quarter of 2023, Canalys said.

Shipments represent the number of devices sent to retailers. They do no equate directly to sales but are a gauge of demand.

The numbers come ahead of Apple’s quarterly earnings release this week, with investors watching the company’s performance in China, a market where the Cupertino giant has faced significant challenges, including intense competition from Huawei and other local players such as Xiaomi.

Huawei, which made a comeback at the end of 2023 after its smartphone business was crippled by U.S. sanctions, has eaten away at Apple’s share.

Apple’s return to growth in China will be a welcome sign for investors. The U.S. tech giant “strategically adjusted its pricing” for the iPhone 16 series in China, which helped it grow, Canalys said. Chinese e-commerce firms discounted Apple’s iPhone 16 models during the quarter. And Apple itself also increased trade-in prices for some iPhone models.

Canalys’ numbers back up figures released by Counterpoint Research earlier this month showing Apple’s return to growth in China.

Shares of Apple have fallen around 14.5% this year, partly on concerns over China and geopolitical headwinds.

Key questions for Apple ahead of earnings

U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened Apple with tariffs and urged CEO Tim Cook to manufacture iPhones in America, a move experts have said would be near impossible.

Meanwhile, competition in China has intensified. Huawei has aggressively launched various smartphones in the past year and has started to roll out HarmonyOS 5, its self-developed operating system, across various devices. It is a rival to Google’s Android and Apple’s iOS.

“This move is expected to accelerate the expansion of its independent ecosystem’s user base, while also placing greater demands on system compatibility and user experience,” Lucas Zhong, analyst at Canalys, said in a press release.

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Environment

More US cities are offering free or heavily discounted electric bikes to residents

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More US cities are offering free or heavily discounted electric bikes to residents

Electric bikes are booming in popularity across the US, and cities are starting to take notice. From famous programs like those in Denver to smaller initiatives around the country, local governments are rolling out rebate and incentive programs to make e-bikes more affordable, especially for lower-income residents. The goal? Get more people out of cars and onto two wheels.

E-bike incentives vary widely by city and state, but the overall trend is clear: public officials increasingly see e-bikes as a low-cost, low-emission transportation solution that checks a lot of boxes. E-bikes are cheaper than cars, don’t require gas, and are far more accessible than public transit in many neighborhoods. And with the ability to flatten hills and shrink long commutes, they’re attracting a much broader audience than traditional bikes.

Programs like Denver’s wildly popular e-bike rebate initiative have shown how effective these incentives can be. The city offers over $1,00 off an e-bike purchase depending on income level, and the demand has been enormous. Rhode Island recently launched its own statewide rebate program offering up to $750, and cities like Ann Arbor, Oakland, Providence, and dozens of others are following suit with their own variations. A Bend, Oregon program will offer free e-bikes to locals. Washington D.C. is piloting a rebate targeted at delivery workers, and even some utility companies, like Vermont’s Green Mountain Power, have gotten in on the action.

These programs especially benefit lower-income residents, who may rely on expensive or unreliable transportation options to get to work, school, or the grocery store. By offering higher rebates to income-qualified applicants, many programs aim to level the playing field and make car-free living more realistic.

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Of course, not every program has gone smoothly. California’s statewide e-bike incentive, much hyped before its launch, faced repeated delays and technical issues that left many applicants frustrated. While the program finally began distributing vouchers this year, the rollout highlights the challenges of scaling these efforts statewide without sufficient infrastructure or planning.

Still, the momentum is undeniable. As cities grapple with climate goals, traffic congestion, and rising transportation costs, e-bike rebates are a relatively cheap way to make a big impact. The biggest challenge now may be keeping up with demand.

Electrek’s Take:

This is one of those rare win-win policies: cleaner air, less traffic, more mobility for people who need it most – and it’s all powered by a single horsepower and some political will. Let’s hope even more cities plug into this trend.

Of course, funding is the biggest obstacle to keeping programs like these rolling. But with the benefits stacking up, from reduced road damage to improved air quality, hopefully the rewards outweigh the upfront cost.

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