US calls for China to release 30 leaders of influential underground church

The US has called for the release of 30 leaders of one of China's largest underground church network who were reportedly detained over the weekend in overnight raids in various cities. The list includes several pastors and Zion Church founder Jin Mingri who was arrested in the early hours of Saturday after 10 officers searched his home, US-based non-profit ChinaAid said.

The Chinese Communist Party promotes atheism and tightly controls religion - still, some Christian groups are calling this the most extensive crackdown against the faith in decades. Christians have long been pressured to join only state-sanctioned churches that are led by government-approved pastors and toe the party line. It is unclear if the detainees have been formally charged.

"Such systematic persecution is not only an affront to the Church of God but also a public challenge to the international community," Zion Church said in a statement.

Urging China to release the church leaders, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement on Sunday that "this crackdown further demonstrates how the CCP exercises hostility towards Christians who reject Party interference in their faith and choose to worship at unregistered house churches".

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China’s market rally faces test as U.S. trade rift flare: ‘much more difficult couple of weeks now’

China’s stock market rebound may be showing signs of strain as renewed U.S.-China trade tensions threaten to derail investor optimism. After months of relative calm, Washington’s fresh warnings over Beijing’s rare earth export controls and renewed trade tensions have revived fears of another tit-for-tat trade cycle.

Chinese shares had recently rallied to a multi-year high on expectations of government stimulus and a recent inflow of foreign capital into Chinese equities. Mainland China’s benchmark CSI 300, which tracks major stocks in Shanghai and Shenzhen, rallied almost 20% since the start of the year to Oct. 9, while the Hang Seng Index surged around 33% in the same period.

However, the possibility of that rally continuing was predicated on stability in geopolitical risk, especially on trade. With tariff rhetoric back at the forefront, analysts warned sentiment could quickly unravel. Both indexes lost over 2% on Monday.

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Fears of renewed US-China trade tensions send Asian stocks south

Major stock markets across Asia Pacific region sank Monday amid mounting fears of a renewed trade war between the world’s two largest economies, after US President Donald Trump threatened to impose new triple-digit tariffs on Chinese imports.

Trump’s threat followed Beijing’s tightening of its control on rare earths, a group of critical minerals essential in the production of a wide range of electronics, automobiles and semiconductors. China dominates the global rare earth supply chain.

Those restrictions came after the US introduced a slew of its own export controls targeting China in late September, despite the two sides seemingly making progress in trade talks over the summer.

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China ‘not afraid of trade war,’ accuses U.S. of ‘double standard’ for rare earths retaliation

China on Sunday said “we are not afraid of” a trade war with the United States after President Donald Trump vowed to impose punishing new retaliatory tariffs on Chinese imports.

A spokesperson for China’s Ministry of Commerce accused the U.S. of a “textbook double standard” with Trump’s promise on Friday to tack on additional 100% tariffs on those imports after China imposed new export controls on rare earths minerals. That promise in a social media post by the president shook U.S. stock marketson Friday, erasing $2 trillion in equity values in a single day.

Willful threats of high tariffs are not the right way to get along with China,” the ministry spokesperson said. “China’s position on the trade war is consistent: we do not want it, but we are not afraid of it,” they added.

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Trump’s new 100% tariffs on China triggered an $18 billion crypto sell-off

President Donald Trump’s threat to impose an additional 100% tariff on imports from China sparked a massive cryptocurrency sell-off late Friday that exposed risky leverage in the space.

Digital currencies bitcoin, ether and solana were among the most affected cryptocurrencies, bringing total liquidations to $18.28 billion as of 3:47 p.m. ET, according to data analysis platform CoinGlass. The losses for cryptocurrencies come amid a broad sell-off, as the Nasdaq and S&P 500 on Friday saw their steepest declines in six months. In the past 24 hours, roughly $5 billion of bitcoin has been liquidated, along with about $4 billion of ether and about $2 billion of solana, according to CoinGlass.

It’s the “largest liquidation event in crypto history,” CoinGlass said in a post on X.

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China Floats Closer Ties With North Korea Following Trump Escalation

China has said it will pursue closer ties with North Korea, following a reignition of trade tensions with the U.S. On Saturday, the Chinese government announced that it is willing to work with North Korea to “explore the potential for practical cooperation and add more impetus to the development and construction of the two countries,” per a report from state news agency Xinhua.

The agreement to strengthen the already robust political and economic bonds between the two nations comes amid new threats of tariffs from President Donald Trump that have weakened the prospect of a deal that could see an end to the simmering trade war between the U.S. and China.

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Middle East gains ground with Chinese tourists during Golden Week

The Middle East has traditionally not ranked among the top destinations for Chinese travelers, but that appears to be changing fast.

During this year’s extended Golden Week holiday — which runs Oct. 1–8 — Chinese travel reservations to Doha surged 441% from a year earlier, while bookings to Abu Dhabi rose 229%, according to Trip.com. The online travel agency said its data covered Sept. 27 to Oct. 8, as many office workers took additional leave to lengthen the break. Meanwhile, Dubai saw a 27% increase, placing it among the top 10 destinations outside Asia, according to travel data analytics firm ForwardKeys, which counted international departures from China between Sept. 27 and Oct. 12.

The Emirate, which is part of the United Arab Emirates, was also one of the top choices for affluent Chinese travelers traveling on premium economy, business, and first class seats, with demand going up 133% year on year.

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