Loans

During meeting with Biden, China’s Xi cautions US to ‘make the wise choice’ to keep relations stable [Video]
►
Categories
Small Business Funding

During meeting with Biden, China’s Xi cautions US to ‘make the wise choice’ to keep relations stable [Video]

Chinas leader Xi Jinping met for the last time with U.S. President Joe Biden on Saturday but was already looking ahead to President-elect Donald Trump and his America first policies, saying Beijing is ready to work with a new U.S. administration.”During their talks on the sidelines of the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, Xi cautioned that a stable China-U.S. relationship was critical not only to the two nations, but also the future and destiny of humanity.Make the wise choice, he cautioned. Keep exploring the right way for two major countries to get along well with each other.Without mentioning Trumps name, Xi appeared to signal his concern that the incoming presidents protectionist rhetoric on the campaign trail could send the U.S.-China relationship into another valley.China is ready to work with a new U.S. administration to maintain communication, expand cooperation and manage differences so as to strive for a steady transition of the China-U.S. relationship for the benefit of the two peoples, Xi said through an interpreter.Xi, who is firmly entrenched atop Chinas political hierarchy, spoke forcefully in his brief remarks before reporters. Biden, who is winding down more than 50 years of public service, talked in broader brushstrokes about where the relationship between the two countries has gone. He reflected not just on the past four years but on the decades the two have known each other.We havent always agreed, but our conversations have always been candid and always been frank. Weve never kidded one another, Biden said. These conversations prevent miscalculations, and they ensure the competition between our two countries will not veer into conflict.Biden was expected to urge Xi to dissuade North Korea from further deepening its support for Russias war on Ukraine. The leaders, with top aides surrounding them, gathered around a long rectangle of tables in an expansive conference room at Limas Defines Hotel and Conference Center.China hosted the meeting this year, after Xi and Biden met a year ago on the APEC sidelines in Northern California, a gathering hosted by the U.S. They had much to discuss, including Chinas indirect support for Russia, human rights issues, technology and Taiwan, the self-ruled democracy that Beijing claims as its own.Theres much uncertainty about what lies ahead in the U.S.-China relationship under Trump, who campaigned promising to levy 60% tariffs on Chinese imports.Already, many American companies, including Nike and eyewear retailer Warby Parker, have been diversifying their sourcing away from China. Shoe brand Steve Madden says it plans to cut imports from China by as much as 45% next year.In a congratulatory message to Trump after his victory over Vice President Kamala Harris, Xi called for the U.S. and China to manage their differences and get along in a new era. In front of the cameras Saturday, Xi spoke to Biden but it was unmistakable that his message was directed at Trump.In a major flourishing sci-tech revolution, neither decoupling nor supply chain disruption is a solution, Xi said. Only mutual, beneficial cooperation can lead to common development. Small yard, high fence is not what a major country should pursue.After he was greeted by Xi, Biden ignored shouted questions from reporters on his concerns about the incoming Trump administration as well as North Korea. The leaders also did not engage reporters after they made their brief comments at the start of the meeting.Biden administration officials would advise the Trump team that managing the intense competition with Beijing will likely be the most significant foreign policy challenge they will face, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said.Biden has viewed his relationship with Xi as among the most consequential on the international stage and put much effort into cultivating it. The two first got to know each other on travels across the U.S. and China when both were vice presidents, interactions that both have said left a lasting impression.For over a decade, you and I have spent many hours together, both here and in China and in between,” Biden said. Weve spent a long time dealing with these issues.But the last four years have presented a steady stream of difficult moments.The FBI this week offered new details of a federal investigation into Chinese government efforts to hack into U.S. telecommunications networks. The initial findings have revealed a broad and significant cyberespionage campaign aimed at stealing information from Americans who work in government and politics.U.S. intelligence officials also have assessed China has surged sales to Russia of machine tools, microelectronics and other technology that Moscow is using to produce missiles, tanks, aircraft and other weaponry for use in its war against Ukraine.And tensions flared last year after Biden ordered the shooting down of a Chinese spy balloon that traversed the United States.Biden is looking for Xi to step up Chinese engagement to prevent an already dangerous moment with North Korea from further escalating.Biden, South Korean President Yoon Seok Yul and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Friday condemned North Korean leader Kim Jong Uns decision to send thousands of troops to help Moscow repel Ukrainian forces who have seized territory in Russias Kursk border region.Biden called it dangerous and destabilizing cooperation.White House officials have expressed frustration with Beijing, which accounts for the vast majority of North Koreas trade, for not doing more to rein in Pyongyang.The North Koreans also have provided Russia with artillery and other munitions, according to U.S. and South Korean intelligence officials. And the U.S., Japan and South Korea have expressed alarm over Pyongyangs stepped-up cadence of ballistic missile tests.Kim ordered testing exercises in the lead-up to this months U.S. election and is claiming progress on efforts to build capability to strike the U.S. mainland.Xi and Biden started their day at the leaders retreat at the APEC summit, taking part in a photo where they all wore scarves made from vicua wool, a symbolic animal for Peru. Its common practice that leaders at these gatherings are given a gift usually traditional clothing of the host country that they don for the photo.___Long reported from Washington. Associated Press writer Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo contributed to this report.

Small Businesses, Big Future: AI-Powered Hookle App Fuels Sustainable Growth for 30 Million U.S. Micro-Businesses | PR Newswire [Video]
►
Categories
Small Business Funding

Small Businesses, Big Future: AI-Powered Hookle App Fuels Sustainable Growth for 30 Million U.S. Micro-Businesses | PR Newswire [Video]

Hookle, a Finland-based tech company, is advancing sustainable growth for over 30 million U.S. micro-businesses with its AI-powered social media marketing app. By simplifying digital marketing, Hookle empowers micro-businesses globally

Trump picks Sen. Marco Rubio as his Secretary of State [Video]
►
Categories
Small Business Funding

Trump picks Sen. Marco Rubio as his Secretary of State [Video]

President-elect Donald Trump named Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida as his nominee for secretary of state on Wednesday, setting up a onetime critic who evolved into one of the president-elects fiercest defenders to become the nations top diplomat.The conservative lawmaker is a noted hawk on China, Cuba and Iran, and was a finalist to be Trumps running mate this summer.On Capitol Hill, Rubio is the vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee and a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He has pushed for taking a harder line against China and has targeted social media app TikTok because its parent company is Chinese. He and other lawmakers contend that Beijing could demand access to the data of users whenever it wants.He will be a strong Advocate for our Nation, a true friend to our Allies, and a fearless Warrior who will never back down to our adversaries, Trump said of Rubio in a statement.Trump made the announcement while flying back back to Florida from Washington after meeting with President Joe Biden.The selection is the culmination of a long, complicated history between the two men. During their tense competition for the GOP presidential nomination in 2016, Rubio was especially blunt in his criticism of Trump, calling him a con artist and the most vulgar person to ever aspire to the presidency.He tried to match Trumps often-crude attacks by joking about the size of Trumps hands in a reference to his manhood. Trump responded by branding Rubio as little Marco, a nickname that stuck with the senator for years.But like many Republicans who sought to maintain their relevance in the Trump era, Rubio shifted his rhetoric. As speculation intensified that Trump might pick him as his running mate, Rubio sought to play down the tension from 2016, suggesting the heated tone simply reflected the intensity of a campaign.That is like asking a boxer why they punched somebody in the face in the third round, Rubio told CNN when asked about his previous comments. Its because they were boxing.Rubio was first elected to the Senate in 2010 as part of the tea party wave of Republicans who swept into Washington. He quickly gained a reputation as someone who could embody a more diverse, welcoming Republican Party. He was a key member of a group that worked on a 2013 immigration bill that included a path to citizenship for millions of people in the country illegally.But that legislation stalled in the House, where more conservative Republicans were in control, signaling the sharp turn to the right that the party and Rubio would soon embrace. Now, Rubio says he supports Trumps plan to deploy the U.S. military to deport those in the country illegally.We are going to have to do something, unfortunately, were going to have to do something dramatic, Rubio said in a May interview with NBC.He also echoes many of Trumps attacks on his opponents as well as his false or unproven theories about voter fraud. After Trump was convicted of 34 felony counts in what New York prosecutors charged was a scheme to illegally influence the 2016 election, Rubio wrote a column for Newsweek saying Trump had been held hostage in court for a sham political show trial like the ones Communists used against their political opponents in Cuba and the Soviet Union.Trump, meanwhile, has backed off his insistence while president that TikTok be banned in the United States, and he recently opened his own account on the platform.A bill that would require the Chinese company ByteDance to sell TikTok or face a ban in the United States was supported by Rubio even as Trump voiced opposition to the effort.Rubio’s Democratic counterpart on the Senate Intelligence Committee, Chairman Mark Warner of Virginia, praised the pick.I have worked with Marco Rubio for more than a decade on the Intelligence Committee, particularly closely in the last couple of years in his role as Vice Chairman, and while we dont always agree, he is smart, talented, and will be a strong voice for American interests around the globe,” Warner said in a statement.Earlier Wednesday, Trump announced that longtime aide Dan Scavino will serve as a deputy without giving a specific portfolio, campaign political director James Blair as deputy for legislative, political and public affairs, and Taylor Budowich as deputy chief of staff for communications and personnel. All will have the rank of assistant to the president.Trump also formally announced Stephen Miller, an immigration hard-liner, will be deputy chief of staff for policy and homeland security adviser. That had previously been confirmed by Vice President-elect JD Vance on Monday.Blair was the political director for Trumps campaign and, once Trump became the presumptive GOP nominee, the political director for the Republican National Committee. He previously worked on Trump’s 2020 campaign in Florida and was a top aide for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.Scavino was a senior adviser on Trumps campaign and, in his first term in the White House, he worked as a social media director.He began working for Trump as a caddy at one of Trumps golf courses, and was part of the small group of staffers who traveled with the president across the country for the entirety of the campaign. He frequently posts memes and videos of Trump’s campaign travel online, cataloguing the campaign from the inside on social media.Before joining the campaign, Budowich worked for the pro-Trump Super PAC, Maga Inc., and after Trump left office, Budowich served as his spokesman while working for Trump’s political action committee, Save America.Dan, Stephen, James, and Taylor were best in class advisors on my winning campaign, and I know they will honorably serve the American people in the White House, Trump said in a statement. They will continue to work hard to Make America Great Again in their respective new roles.Miller is one of Trumps longest-serving aides, dating back to his first campaign for the White House. He was a senior adviser in Trumps first term and has been a central figure in many of his policy decisions, particularly on immigration, including Trumps move to separate thousands of immigrant families as a deterrence program in 2018.

Election takeaways: Trump’s decisive victory in a deeply divided nation [Video]
►
Categories
Small Business Funding

Election takeaways: Trump’s decisive victory in a deeply divided nation [Video]

Donald Trump scored a decisive victory in a deeply divided nation. And in so doing, the Republican president-elect exposed a fundamental weakness within the Democratic base and beat back concerns about his moral failings, becoming the first U.S. president with a felony conviction.The Republican former president won over voters with bold promises that his fiery brand of America-first economic populism and conservative culture would make their lives better.Still, he is set to enter the White House on Jan. 20, 2025, from an undisputed position of strength. With votes still being counted, he could become the first Republican in two decades to win the popular vote.The results left Democrats facing an urgent and immediate reckoning, with no obvious leader to unite the anti-Trump coalition and no clear plan to rebuild as an emboldened Trump prepares to re-take Washington.Here are some key takeaways:With modest shifts, Trump undermines the Democrats coalitionBlack voters men and women have been the bedrock of the Democratic Party, and in recent years, Latinos and young voters have joined them.All three groups still preferred Democrat Kamala Harris. But preliminary data from AP VoteCast, a survey of more than 115,000 voters nationwide, suggested that Trump made significant gains.Voters under age 30 represent a fraction of the total electorate, but about half of them supported Harris. Thats compared to the roughly 6 in 10 who backed Biden in 2020. Slightly more than 4 in 10 young voters went for Trump, up from about one-third in 2020.At the same time, Black and Latino voters appeared slightly less likely to support Harris than they were to back Biden four years ago, according to AP VoteCast.About 8 in 10 Black voters backed Harris, down from the roughly 9 in 10 who backed Biden. More than half of Hispanic voters supported Harris, but that was down slightly from the roughly 6 in 10 who backed Biden in 2020. Trumps support among those groups appeared to rise slightly compared to 2020. Collectively, those small gains yielded an outsize outcome.Trump focus on immigration, economy and culture workedTrump ultimately won over voters with grand promises to improve the economy, block the flow of immigrants on the Southern border and his siren call to make America great again.He also appealed to religious voters in both parties by seizing on the Democrats’ support for the transgender community.Overall, about half of Trump voters said inflation was the biggest issue factoring into their election decisions. About as many said that of the situation at the U.S.-Mexico border, according to AP VoteCast.He papered over the fact that the economy, by many conventional metrics, is robust inflation is largely in check, and wages are up while border crossings have dropped dramatically.He also sold them on the promise of the largest mass deportation effort in U.S. history, although he has not explained how such an operation would work. And he is threatening to impose massive tariffs on key products from China and other American adversaries, which economists warn could dramatically boost prices for average Americans.Ultimately, Trump’s victory may have had as much to do with the fundamental challenges Harris faced all along. Facing deep voter frustration over the direction of the country with Biden’s approval rating dismal she never did distance herself from her party’s sitting president. Though Trump has now been the central figure in American politics for nine years, he convinced voters he represented change.Trump will take charge of a nation with deep fissuresTrump is poised to inherit a nation with deepening political and cultural fissures and a worried electorate.When asked what most influenced their vote, about half of voters cited the future of democracy. That was higher than the share who answered the same way about inflation, immigration or abortion policy. And it crosses over the two major parties: About two-thirds of Harris voters and about a third of Trump voters said the future of democracy was the most important factor in their votes.Thats not surprising given the rhetoric of the campaign.Trump refused to acknowledge his 2020 defeat and watched his supporters ransack the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, as Congress convened to certify Democrat Joe Bidens victory. Trump even mused two days before Election Day that he shouldnt have left the White House after repeatedly promising retribution to his political enemies.Harris, by the end of the campaign, joined other critics including some of Trumps former White House chief of staff in describing the former president as a fascist. Trump, meanwhile, labeled Harris a fascist and a communist.Trumps criminal convictions not an issue for many votersIncomplete returns show that Donald Trumps criminal convictions, additional pending indictments and any concerns over his most incendiary rhetoric simply were not a sufficient concern to keep tens of millions of Americans from voting for him.According to AP VoteCast, slightly more than half of voters said Harris has the moral character to be president, compared to about 4 in 10 who said that about Trump. Its quite possible, as Trump has said many times on the campaign trail, that his legal peril actually helped him.As it stands, Trump may never actually face sentencing in a New York business fraud case in which he was convicted of 34 felonies. For now, his sentencing is scheduled for later this month.Hes already had one federal indictment in Florida dismissed, sparing him from a trial on whether he flouted U.S. law on protecting national security secrets. And hes made clear he would use his power as president to spike the federal case against him for his role in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. That would leave a Georgia racketeering case pending against Trump and others accused of trying to subvert the 2020 election result.Abortion on the ballotIt was the first presidential election after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and ended a womans national right to terminate a pregnancy. It was also the first time that a Republican presidential candidate overly courted men.But the “gender gap” that resulted was not enough to sink Trump.About half of women backed Harris, while about half of men went for Trump, according to AP VoteCast. That appears largely consistent with the shares for Biden and Trump in 2020.Democrats face leadership crisis with urgent need to regroupJust a few months ago, Harris generated incredible excitement across the party. She raised more than a billion dollars seemingly overnight. She dominated her debate with Trump. She filled arenas. And just days ago drew a massive crowd to the Ellipse and National Mall.But in the end, it wasn’t enough.Meanwhile, Republicans have claimed control of the Senate, ousting veteran Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio and putting several other Democratic incumbents on the edge of defeat. The results will give Trump a significant advantage in pushing his agenda through Congress. Their only hope is to win a House majority built mostly through key suburban districts in California and New York, but that was far from certain early Wednesday.And either way, the results shrink Democrats geographic footprint and, with Browns loss, diminish the kind of working class voice that can counter Trumps appeal.Trump already succeeded in painting Democrats as out-of-touch culturally with middle America. Now Democrats are left to wonder how to reconnect with parts of the country and slices of the electorate that rejected them.