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Real-time News
On May 12, 2026, Premier Li Qiang met with Tajik President Emomali Rahmon at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. President Rahmon was on a state visit to China. Li Qiang pointed out that China is willing to continue to leverage the role of the intergovernmental economic and trade cooperation committee with Tajikistan, steadily expand trade volume, improve the quality and efficiency of investment cooperation, and deepen cooperation in areas such as mineral resources, green industries, digital economy, and infrastructure, to better serve the modernization of both countries. China is willing to import more high-quality products from Tajikistan and encourage more capable Chinese enterprises to invest in Tajikistan. Both sides should continue to deepen exchanges and cooperation in culture, education, health, and local areas, and accelerate the establishment of cultural centers in each others countries. President Rahmon stated that Tajikistan looks forward to further strengthening high-level exchanges with China, deepening cooperation in trade, industry, agriculture, and connectivity, expanding cooperation in emerging fields such as digital economy, green minerals, clean energy, and high technology, and promoting cultural and local exchanges.U.S. Redbook retail sales annualized for the week ending May 9 were 9.6%, compared to 7.8% previously.On May 12th, it was reported that the retail price of ordinary U.S. beef surged to a new high of $7.056 per pound in April, a 2.8% increase month-over-month, after remaining flat the previous month. This indicates a continued tight supply of beef in the U.S., despite the countrys plans to import a record amount of beef this year to meet market demand. According to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the U.S. imported nearly 600,000 tons of beef and beef products in the first quarter of this year, a 16% increase compared to the same period in 2025. Yesterday, reports indicated that the White House postponed a planned executive order to temporarily reduce beef tariff quotas, a move that would have allowed more beef to enter the U.S. market at lower tariff rates. Furthermore, the average price of steaks also reached a record high.May 12th - The U.S. April CPI rose faster than expected, further exacerbating concerns about the impact of inflation on the U.S. economy. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Tuesday that the seasonally adjusted overall CPI rose 0.6% month-over-month and 3.8% year-over-year. The monthly increase was in line with expectations, but the year-over-year increase was 0.1 percentage points higher than market expectations. The core CPI, excluding food and energy, rose 0.4% and 2.8% respectively, indicating that although inflation remains well above the Federal Reserves 2% target, the pressure mainly comes from non-core sectors, especially energy. Energy prices rose 3.8%, again becoming one of the main drivers of rising inflation; food prices also rose 0.5%. For the whole year, energy prices rose 17.9%, and food prices rose 3.2%. The gasoline price index rose 28.4% year-over-year. While energy, especially gasoline, was the main news focus, inflationary pressures also came from several other areas. Housing costs rose 0.6%, clothing prices, which are heavily affected by tariffs, rose 0.6%, and airfares rose 2.8%, with a year-over-year increase of 20.7%. Tariffs also appear to have impacted other sectors, with spending on household goods and related items rising by 0.7%.On May 12th, Nick Timiraos, a vocal advocate for the Federal Reserve, commented on the US CPI data, stating that the optimistic narrative surrounding inflation has been that recent price increases are driven by tariffs (which will be reflected in goods), and therefore this increase will not be sustainable because tariffs cannot be raised year after year. However, the April CPI data alone does not support this claim. Housing prices rose 0.6% (a rebound was previously expected to compensate for lower figures during the government shutdown). But core services prices, excluding housing, rose 0.45%, the third-highest month-over-month increase since January 2025. Over the 12-month period, the 3.3% year-over-year increase is the highest level since February 2025. Core goods prices rose 0.03% in the month (1.13% year-over-year).
