Chinese-U.S. commerce officials agree to press ahead with trade talks, Beijing says
10 June 2021
China's government announced late Wednesday that it had reached an agreement with U.S. commerce officials to press ahead with trade and investment ties.
Driving the news: Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and her Chinese counterpart Wang Wentao "exchanged views frankly and pragmatically on relevant issues and mutual concerns," according to a Chinese Communist Party statement translated by Bloomberg.
- It was the third phone conversation between top officials from the two nations in the past few weeks, following Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen's discussions with Vice Premier Liu He, Bloomberg notes.
- Representatives for the State Department and Treasury did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment.
Editor's note: This a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.
Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times
Section2Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.
Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.
The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.
- The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.
What the transcripts say:
- Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
- The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
- Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."
Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.