Evening digest: Trump–Xi call, China-Japan tensions, Alphabet nears $4T

A busy day across global politics, security, and markets:

Trump and Xi held a high-stakes call on Taiwan and Ukraine, China blasted Japan over new missile deployments near Taiwan, a federal judge tossed charges against James Comey on a technicality, and Alphabet surged toward a $4 trillion valuation.

A glance at the major developments on Monday.

Trump, Xi hold high-stakes call

In a phone call on Monday, President Donald Trump and China’s President Xi Jinping talked through some major geopolitical and trade issues, especially Taiwan and the war in Ukraine.

Xi stressed that bringing Taiwan back under China’s control is, in his view, part of the post–World War II international order, and he said he hopes to see a lasting peace deal in Ukraine.

Trump, meanwhile, pointed to the strong trade ties between the two countries and announced a big new agricultural agreement that’s set to help American farmers.

Overall, the call showed that even with tensions running high in places like Taiwan and Eastern Europe, the two sides are still keeping diplomatic channels open, with the US continuing to back Taiwan’s defense and pushing for peace talks in Ukraine.

China slams Japan’s missile move

China has come out swinging against Japan’s plan to place medium-range surface-to-air missiles on Yonaguni Island, which sits only about 110 kilometers from Taiwan.

Beijing called the move a deliberate attempt to stir up tensions and even risk military conflict. China’s foreign ministry didn’t mince words, saying the deployment is extremely dangerous and could destabilize the whole region.

Japan’s decision follows recent comments from its leaders suggesting they’re prepared to use military force if China moves against Taiwan.

From Beijing’s perspective, this missile deployment is just another piece of a larger US–Japan strategy aimed at containing China. In response, China warned that it will firmly defend its territorial sovereignty.

Judge tosses Comey charges

A US federal judge has thrown out the criminal charges against former FBI Director James Comey, and it all comes down to a procedural slip-up.

Judge Michael Nachmanoff ruled that the grand jury indictment wasn’t valid because the US Attorney who brought the case wasn’t properly appointed and didn’t have the legal authority to file the charges in the first place.

The decision is a blow to the Justice Department’s efforts, especially since the prosecutions had been encouraged by former President Donald Trump.

Both the cases against Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James were dismissed without prejudice, meaning the charges could still be refiled later if a properly authorized prosecutor decides to take them up.

Alphabet nears $4 trillion milestone

Alphabet’s stock just shot up more than 6%, hitting a record high of $315.90 a share and pushing the company close to a massive $4 trillion market value.

That makes it the fourth company to get near this milestone.

The surge comes as Alphabet continues to post strong growth in its AI projects and cloud business, with investors clearly confident, the stock is up about 70% this year.

A lot of that momentum is thanks to Alphabet’s progress in AI, especially the success of its Gemini 3 model, which many say has given the company an edge over its competitors.

And while some people worry that tech stocks are becoming overpriced, analysts still see Alphabet as a solid long-term leader in the AI space.

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