※[Global Morning Briefing] summarizes global news delivered by Seoul Economic Daily.
Turning a Celebration Into a Rally: Why Trump Shouted 'Communism' Nine Times
U.S. President Donald Trump continued hardline remarks targeting communism, declaring that "America is stronger than ever" as he marked the 250th anniversary of the nation's founding.
Trump delivered a 35-minute speech at the 250th anniversary celebration of independence and founding, held at the National Mall in Washington, D.C., on Friday. Delayed by a storm, he began speaking at 11:15 p.m., an hour and a half later than scheduled. He inspired patriotism by highlighting America's technological achievements, including the Wright brothers' invention of the airplane and the exploration of the far side of the moon. He also claimed that he rebuilt the military during his first term, achieving results in Venezuela and Iran. Bringing the Artemis spacecraft crew onto the stage, he said the United States, once behind China and Russia in space, is now leading the field.
Throughout the speech, Trump mentioned "communism" nine times, declaring flatly that "communism will always be a loser." He introduced Marine Sergeant Patrick Finn and Private First Class Rudy Meekins, veterans of the Battle of Chosin Reservoir during the Korean War, drawing applause, and stressed that communism must be rooted out, comparing it to cancer. These remarks are interpreted as an intent to check the spread of democratic socialism within the Democratic Party following the election of New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani. Former White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon had earlier warned that conservatives are underestimating the threat of this trend.
After Pressuring Coupang, Trump Secretly Traded It 18 Times — and Took a Loss
As the U.S. White House takes issue with the South Korean government's discriminatory treatment of Coupang, it has been revealed that President Donald Trump himself has repeatedly traded Coupang stock since last year.
According to financial disclosure documents released by the U.S. Office of Government Ethics, Trump bought and sold Coupang stock a total of 18 times from October last year to May this year. He made small, incremental purchases when the stock price fell due to a personal data breach last year, executed his largest purchase in February this year, and made two sales during a stock price decline in May, raising the possibility that he took a loss. The White House maintains that this is not a conflict of interest because a significant portion of the president's assets are held in a trust in the name of his eldest son, Donald Trump Jr.
The interests of senior officials in the Trump administration were also revealed. U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer received speaking fees from Coupang before taking office, and State Department Under Secretary for Political Affairs Allison Hooker also provided consulting to Coupang before her appointment. Some point out that such backgrounds are not unrelated to the hardline pro-Coupang stance of the U.S. administration and Congress.
The direction of the controversy is expected to be determined after the November midterm elections. The Democratic Party is investigating the issue of Trump's wealth accumulation and is reportedly considering it as grounds for impeachment.
China's Video AI Kling Sees Sales Surge 300% — Why Three Big Tech Firms Joined Forces
Chinese video artificial intelligence (AI) company Kling has attracted investment of approximately 4.67 trillion won, earning a corporate valuation of approximately 27.54 trillion won.
According to local media outlet Jiemian News, Kuaishou, Kling's parent company, announced through a filing with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on the 2nd of this month that it would raise up to $3 billion in external funds through a third-party allotment of new shares. So far, $2.8 billion has been raised, and once the funding is complete, Kuaishou's stake in Kling will fall to 68.33%. This is a pre-IPO investment in which Kuaishou plans to spin off Kling and pursue a listing on the Hong Kong stock market within 12 months. A put option has been set allowing investors to sell back their shares with an added annual interest of 8% if the listing does not take place by October 30, 2031.
The size of this investment is the second largest in China's generative AI field this year after DeepSeek, and the largest among video generation AI models. About 70% of Kling's revenue comes from overseas subscriptions and API calls from 50,000 enterprise customers, and its first-quarter revenue this year rose more than 300% from a year earlier to 650 million yuan. Goldman Sachs assessed that Kling has an advantage over its competitor Seedance in terms of commercial application.
The participation of China's three major big tech firms — Baidu, Alibaba, and Tencent — in the investment is interpreted as an intent to check Seedance's market monopoly. However, there are also concerns that this funding is insufficient compared with Kuaishou's capital expenditure plan of 26 billion yuan for this year.
China's Top Export City Shenzhen Prepares for APEC, Showcasing Huawei and BYD Self-Reliance
China's Shenzhen is undertaking large-scale renovations ahead of hosting the APEC summit this November, based on its overwhelming export performance and concentration of advanced companies.
Shenzhen recorded exports of 2.7387 trillion yuan last year, overtaking second-place Shanghai to become China's number one, and is home to leading tech companies such as Tencent, Huawei, DJI, and BYD. Since Deng Xiaoping designated it as China's first special economic zone along with Shantou, Zhuhai, and Xiamen in 1980, it has grown from a fishing village of 30,000 people into a city of 18 million people with a gross domestic product of 3.9 trillion yuan, becoming the third-largest city after Shanghai and Beijing.
Selected as the third APEC host city after Shanghai in 2001 and Beijing in 2014, the Shenzhen city government has formed a dedicated organization and is devoting all its efforts to preparations. Large-scale road maintenance and landscape improvement work is under way near the Qianhai International Conference Center, and some analysts say there is also an intent to showcase to the outside world the self-reliance achievements of advanced technology companies such as Huawei and BYD, which have faced pressure from the United States. Indeed, these companies are set to participate as major sponsors during APEC and demonstrate their advanced technology capabilities, and delegations from more than 10 countries, including the United States and Russia, have reportedly visited Shenzhen's corporate exhibition halls since early this year. An official from the Shenzhen Foreign Affairs Office said the city hopes to advance onto the world stage through this event.
