China on Thursday rejected what it described as “small-circle rules” after the United States announced plans to establish a preferential trade zone for critical minerals with allied countries.

China Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said maintaining an open, inclusive and mutually beneficial international trade environment serves the common interests of all nations, the Global Times reported.

“China opposes any country undermining the international economic and trade order through ‘small-circle rules,’” he told reporters in Beijing.

He added that countries share responsibility for safeguarding the stability and security of global supply and industrial chains for critical minerals.

His remarks came after US Vice President J.D. Vance on Wednesday announced that the Trump administration is seeking to form a critical minerals “preferential trade zone” with partner nations.

Addressing delegations from more than 50 nations, Vance said the United States is seeking to build consensus to form the group “to eliminate the problem of people flooding into our markets with cheap critical minerals to undercut our domestic manufacturers,” likely referring to Chinese trade practices that have repeatedly been criticized by the United States and allied nations.

US President Donald Trump offered to unfreeze federal infrastructure funding if the top Senate Democrat would help rename a major airport and train station after him, US media reported Thursday.

Trump, a real estate mogul who plastered his name on buildings around the world, has sought to leave his mark on the country in an unprecedented image and building campaign.

In December, Trump’s handpicked board of the Kennedy Centre, an arts complex and memorial to late president John F. Kennedy, voted to rename itself the “Trump-Kennedy Centre.”

Meanwhile, he has pushed for the construction of an “Independence Arch” similar to the Arc de Triomphe in Paris and launched the construction of a new White House ballroom, tearing down the storied building’s East Wing to make way.

But New York’s Penn Station and Washington’s Dulles International Airport are also in Trump’s sights, CNN and NBC reported.

Citing unnamed sources, the outlets reported Trump offered a quid-pro-quo for the held-up funding, meant for a New York infrastructure project, if New York Senator Chuck Schumer agreed to help get the train station and airport named after him.

Schumer rebuffed the offer, the broadcasters reported. CNN reported the offer was made last month.

New York and New Jersey are currently suing for the $16 billion in blocked federal funds, meant to be used for a tunnel connecting them.

Trump’s moves to insert his name and likeness across the government is unprecedented. Buildings and infrastructure are typically named after presidents once they leave office or die, to avoid overt politicisation.

The Treasury has confirmed reports that drafts have been drawn up for a commemorative $1 coin featuring Trump’s image, even though there are laws against displaying the image of a sitting or living president on money.

New York Representative Jerry Nadler called the attempt to rename Dulles airport and Penn Station an “extortion racket.”

Trump also unveiled a government website to offer low-cost prescription drugs Thursday called TrumpRx.

The US has backed the UK’s deal to hand over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius and lease back a key military base, Downing Street has told the BBC.

On Thursday, Donald Trump signalled his approval for the move, describing Sir Keir Starmer’s agreement as the “best he could make”.

It comes just a few weeks after the US president prompted fears in Whitehall that he would withdraw his support, after he branded the deal an “act of great stupidity”.

Trump’s comments led to additional talks between officials to confirm continued American support for the agreement, which will impact the future of a joint UK-US airbase.

The deal, originally announced last year, would see the UK transfer sovereignty of the Chagos Islands while leasing back the joint military base on the largest island, Diego Garcia, for an initial 99 years.

During a conversation on Thursday, the two leaders “agreed on the importance” of the deal to secure the base, Downing Street said.

A spokeswoman said they agreed the UK and US would “continue to work closely on the implementation of the deal”.

In a post on his Truth Social platform earlier on Thursday, Trump wrote that his discussions with Sir Keir had been “very productive”.

He added: “I understand that the deal Prime Minister Starmer has made, according to many, the best he could make.”

“However, if the lease deal, sometime in the future, ever falls apart, or anyone threatens or endangers US operations and forces at our base, I retain the right to militarily secure and reinforce the American presence in Diego Garcia,” he said.

Asked about Trump’s comments, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters: “He spoke with Prime Minister Starmer directly, he understands Prime Minister Starmer’s position – and he supports it.”

“But as the president reiterated in that statement, of course, the United States reserves the right to protect our assets.”

Warren Stephens, the US’s ambassador to the UK, said while the “ideal” outcome would be for the UK not to transfer sovereignty of the Chagos Islands, it was the “best deal on the table for successive UK governments”.

Echoing the president, Stephens said the US “retains the right to maintain and to reinforce our security interests on Diego Garcia if needed in the future”.

The deal was originally announced last year, and had been endorsed by Trump and US officials. But last month the US president labelled it an “act of total weakness”.

He added in a post on Truth Social: “The UK giving away extremely important land is an act of GREAT STUPIDITY, and is another in a very long line of National Security reasons why Greenland has to be acquired.”

Trump’s criticism of the agreement came during an international row over his threats to take control of Greenland.

At the time, Sir Keir accused Trump of making the comments to pressure the UK over its support for the sovereignty of the Danish territory.

The comments threw into doubt whether the US would continue to support the Chagos deal. At the time, Downing Street said it believed the US still supported it, despite the president’s comments.

Officials in London and Washington have since been involved in talks to determine whether US support for the agreement still stood.

The BBC understands those talks, which included two direct phone calls between Starmer and Trump, have now been completed.

‘Appalling surrender’

A draft law to ratify the Chagos Islands deal is making its way through Parliament but has been delayed since the president’s outburst last month.

Sir Keir has insisted the deal is necessary to protect the continued operation of the base, amid previous attempts from Mauritius to dispute the legality of British sovereignty over the islands.

The deal has been heavily criticised by the Conservatives and Reform UK, who argue it undermines national security because of Mauritius’s ties to China.

Conservative shadow foreign secretary, Dame Priti Patel, said Trump’s statement “recognises a critical weakness in the surrender deal” about the lease arrangements.

“The Conservative Party’s view is unchanged,” she added.

“We have led the fight against this appalling surrender and we will continue fighting it to the end.”