China's move showed serious disrespect for Taiwan. The two sides haven't started negotiations on the panda offer but China, through propaganda manipulation, made it seem like Taiwan is sure to receive the gift.

come into the talks and move into substantive negotiations.

Among all the FTA negotiations that China has been in, the negotiation with the ASEAN is definitely the fastest and most fruitful one.

The differences between the sides are now much deeper and the chances for negotiations are much more remote. The only realistic steps may be Israeli unilateral steps.

I showed up at 9 and at about 10 the hail started coming down. About 11:30 or 12 we started seeing clearing past the trees in left field. Our kids got there at 11 and they were bundled up. We took (batting practice) and they didn't want any part of that.

There have been constructive talks between the E.U. and China, and the two sides are broadly in the same place about how to deal with the overshoot in certain textile quotas. But there are still important aspects still to be reached.