DIDI TANG

Asian affairs reporter

Tang joined the AP Washington bureau in 2023 after spending 11 years in Beijing as a China correspondent. She covers anything related to the Indo-Pacific region with a focus on U.S.-China competitions
The American and Chinese flags wave, Feb. 2, 2022, in Zhangjiakou, China. (AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato, File)
Global views of China and Xi improve, while they decline about the US and Trump, survey says
Global views of China and its leader Xi Jinping have improved, while opinions of the U.S. and Donald Trump have declined.
 
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., speaks during the McIntyre-Shaheen 100 Club Dinner, April 27, 2025, in Manchester, N.H. (AP Photo/Reba Saldanha, File)
Senate Democrats say Trump’s policies are hurting America’s ability to compete with China
Senate Democrats say President Donald Trump’s policies are weakening America’s ability to compete with China.
 
President of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China Jens Eskelund talks during a press conference for the latest report on European companies in China on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025, in Beijing. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila, File)
Reeling from Trump rebukes, Europe weighs deeper ties with China
The European Union is reassessing its ties with China strained relations with the United States. Tensions with the U.S., including trade wars and shifting alliances, have pushed EU leaders to explore reducing reliance on Washington.
 
The smartphone apps DeepSeek page is seen on a smartphone screen in Beijing, Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Andy Wong, File)
Bipartisan bill aims to block Chinese AI from federal agencies
New legislation in Congress would block Chinese artificial intelligence systems from federal agencies.
 
Chinese President Xi Jinping is displayed on a screen as Type 99A2 Chinese battle tanks take part in a parade commemorating the 70th anniversary of Japan's surrender during World War II held in front of Tiananmen Gate in Beijing on Sept. 3, 2015. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, File)
Beijing, a longtime friend of Tehran, turns to cautious diplomacy in Iran’s war with Israel
A longtime friend of Tehran, Beijing jumped into verbal action when Israel attacked Iran nearly two weeks ago. It condemned the attacks.
 
China grants rare earth export permits after US trade talks, offers relief but uncertainty persists
China has approved “a certain number” of export permits for rare earth elements and related items, its commerce ministry spokesman said on Thursday.
 
A worker stands watch as a train loaded with containers leaves the Chongqing Railway Container Terminal Station, in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality on Tuesday, May 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
A timeline of the US-China tariff and trade spat since President Trump took office this year
Shortly after President Donald Trump returned to the White House in January, he launched a tariff war against China, as part of a broader implementation of import taxes on goods from several dozen countries as Trump seeks to reset the foundations of global trade.
 
A woman demonstrates remote mining equipment at a supply chain expo in Beijing, on Nov. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
Trump says US gets rare earth minerals from China and tariffs on Chinese goods will total 55%
President Donald Trump announced Wednesday that China will make it easier for American industry to obtain much-needed needed magnets and rare earth minerals, clearing the way for talks to continue between the world’s two biggest economies.
 
A drone carries a mortar shell as soldiers take part in the U.S.-led Immediate Response 25 military exercise in Petrochori, Greece, Wednesday, June 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis, File)
Trump’s new drone orders aim to counter threats while encouraging flying cars and supersonic flights
President Donald Trump has signed three executive orders dealing with drone regulations and encouraging the development of flying cars and supersonic flights.
 
U.S. President Donald Trump, left, meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping during a meeting on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Osaka, Japan, June 29, 2019. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)
Trump says after Xi call that US and China will resume trade talks
President Donald Trump says his first conversation with Chinese leader Xi Jinping since returning to the White House had a “very positive conclusion,” announcing the two countries will hold trade talks in hopes of breaking an impasse over tariffs and global supplies of rare earth minerals.
 
A Chinese soccer fan cheers for his team before their AFC Asian Cup group A soccer match against Qatar in Doha, Qatar, on Jan. 12, 2011. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar, File)
Why mighty China fails at the world’s biggest sport
China will be eliminated from soccer World Cup qualification if it fails to beat Indonesia on Thursday.
 
FILE -Mongolian Prime Minister Oyun-Erdene Luvsannamsrai walks past journalists as he arrives to vote at a polling station in Ulaanbataar, Mongolia, June 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, File)
Mongolia’s prime minister resigns after losing a parliament vote of confidence after protests
Mongolia’s prime minister has resigned after he failed to receive enough support in a vote of confidence in parliament.
 
President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference with Elon Musk in the Oval Office of the White House, Friday, May 30, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Trump says China ‘violated’ agreement on trade talks and he’ll stop being ‘nice’
President Donald Trump said Friday that he will no longer be “Mr. NICE GUY” with China on trade, declaring in a social media post that the country had broken an agreement with the United States.
 
American flags are displayed together with Chinese flags on top of a trishaw on Sept. 16, 2018, in Beijing. (AP Photo/Andy Wong, File)
The US academic partnership with China, under strain for years, faces its biggest threat
Frayed by tariff wars and political battles, the academic tie between the U.S. and China is now facing its greatest threat yet as the Trump administration promises to revoke visas for an unknown number of Chinese students and tighten future visa screening.
 
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, left, and U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent take part in a press conference after two days of closed-door discussions on trade between the United States and China, in Geneva, Switzerland, Monday, May 12, 2025. (Jean-Christophe Bott/Keystone via AP)
US-China deal to slash tariffs also eases burden on cheap packages
Online shoppers in the U.S. will see a price break on their purchases valued at less than $800 and shipped from China after the Trump administration reached a truce with Beijing over sky-high tariffs.
 
President Donald Trump answers a reporter's question during an event in the Roosevelt Room at the White House, Monday, May 12, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
What’s next with Trump’s trade war truce with China
President Donald Trump’s agreement with China to temporarily slash tariffs for 90 days offered the world a bit of welcome relief.
 
Switzerland's Economy Minister Federal Councillor Guy Parmelin, left, shakes hands with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, right, next to Switzerland's President Karin Keller-Sutter, center, during a bilateral meeting between Switzerland and China, in Geneva, Switzerland, on Friday, May 9, 2025. (Martial Trezzini/Keystone via AP, Pool)
US-China tariff talks to continue Sunday, an official tells AP, as Trump touts ‘great progress made’
President Donald Trump says “great progress” was being made in ongoing U.S.-China talks over tariffs menacing the global economy, and even suggested a “total reset” was on the table as tariff negotiations are set to continue Sunday in Switzerland.
 
Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, Switzerland's Economy Minister Federal Councillor Guy Parmelin and Switzerland's President Karin Keller-Sutter speak, during a bilateral meeting on Friday, May 9, 2025. (Martial Trezzini/Keystone via AP, Pool)
You called me. No — you called ME. Before US-China meeting, nations each say the other wanted talks
Before high-level U.S. and Chinese officials hold talks in Switzerland this weekend to discuss high tariffs, Washington and Beijing have been in a rhetorical duel over which side reached out first.
 
A collection of Barbie dolls are placed into a cart in Bowling Green, Ky., on Tuesday, Dec. 7, 2021. (Grace Ramey/Daily News via AP, File)
Two dolls instead of 30? Toys become the latest symbol of Trump’s trade war
Toy dolls have become the latest rhetorical poster child for President Donald Trump’s tariffs crusade.
 
President Donald Trump speaks at an event for Military Mothers, Thursday, May 8, 2025, in the East Room of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
As US and China begin trade talks in Geneva, Trump’s tariff hammer looks less mighty than he claims
The way President Donald Trump sees it, beating China in a trade war should be easy. After all, the Chinese sell Americans three times as much stuff as Americans sell them.
 
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent testifies before the House Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government, oversight hearing of the U.S. Department of the Treasury on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, May 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
Top US officials will meet with Chinese delegation in Switzerland in first major talks of trade war
Top U.S. officials are set to meet with a high-level Chinese delegation this weekend in Switzerland.
 
President Donald Trump, left, poses for a photo with Chinese President Xi Jinping during a meeting on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Osaka, Japan, June 29, 2019. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)
Threatened by Trump tariffs, Japan walks a delicate tightrope between US and China
Among all U.S. allies being wooed by Beijing in its tariff stare-down with Washington, Japan stands out as a peculiar case.
 
Shipping containers are seen ready for transport at the Guangzhou Port in the Nansha district in southern China's Guangdong province on April 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, File)
Cheap parcels from China will no longer be duty-free. Here’s what it means for buyers and sellers
The Trump administration is ending a duty-free exemption on low-value imports from China Friday. For consumers, that will mean higher prices and delivery delays when the government starts collecting tariffs on every single shipment.
 
Former Sen. David Perdue speaks during a gubernatorial Republican primary debate, Sunday, May 1, 2022, in Atlanta. Senate has confirmed Perdue as ambassador to China, just as the U.S. and China are locked in a tariff showdown that threatens to redefine diplomatic relations between the world's two largest economies. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
Senate confirms former Sen. David Perdue as Trump’s US ambassador to China amid tariff showdown
The Senate has confirmed former Sen. David Perdue as ambassador to China, just as the U.S. and China are locked in a tariff showdown that threatens to redefine diplomatic relations between the world’s two largest economies.
 
President Donald Trump, left, poses for a photo with Chinese President Xi Jinping during a meeting on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Osaka, Japan, June 29, 2019. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)
With China and the US at intense economic odds, other nations are being forced to choose sides
As President Donald Trump’s trade war locks the world’s two largest economies on a collision course, America’s unnerved allies and partners are cozying up with China to hedge their bets.
 
A handwritten price tag for sausage imported from China is seen at a grocery market in the Chinatown neighborhood of Los Angeles, Friday, April 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
As tariffs put trade between China and the US in peril, Chinese businesses ponder the future
The 145% tariff from the U.S. and the retaliatory 125% tariff from China are putting businesses doing trade between the U.S. and China on edge.
 
U.S. flag themed wearables are displayed at the Yiwu International Trade Market in Yiwu, eastern China's Zhejiang province, Thursday, April 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
As Trump alienates allies with US tariffs, China is poised to exploit the gaps
Donald Trump is trying to to turn his global trade war into a one-on-one showdown with China. In doing so, he’s alienated some of the key U.S. partners who could boost America’s position in a fight between the world’s largest economies.
 
A stock investor stands in front of the stock price indices at a brokerage house in Hangzhou in eastern China's Zhejiang province, Monday, April 7, 2025. (Chinatopix Via AP)
The United States and China are locked in a faceoff over tariffs. No one wants to blink first
The tariff fight between the world’s two largest economies has spiraled into greater peril. President Donald Trump is now trying to narrow his global trade war into a risky direct faceoff with Beijing.
 
Vuthy Tha, a Cambodian reporter at Radio Free Asia who spent 7 years in a Thai refugee camp before arriving in the United States, poses for a portrait, Tuesday, April 1, 2025, at the RFA office in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)
Foreign journalists at US-backed media fear being sent to repressive homelands after Trump’s cuts
Reporters and human rights groups say the Trump administration’s efforts to dismantle the U.S. Agency for Global Media have put dozens of journalists at risk, especially those who defied authoritarian regimes to help fulfill the U.S. mission of delivering uncensored news to parts of the world under
 
A worker loads rolls of steel plate at a steel market in Hangzhou in east China's Zhejiang province, Monday, March 31, 2025. (Chinatopix Via AP)
China slaps a 34% tax on all US imports in retaliation for Trump’s tariffs
China says it will impose a 34% tax on all U.S. imports next week, delivering its strongest response yet since U.S.
 
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