By DIDI TANG

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. and Chinese officials may be able to settle many of their differences to reach a trade deal and avert punishing tariffs, but they remain far apart on one issue: the U.S. demand that China stop purchasing oil from Iran and Russia.

“China will always ensure its energy supply in ways that serve our national interests,” China’s Foreign Ministry posted on X on Wednesday following two days of trade negotiations in Stockholm, responding to the U.S. threat of a 100% tariff.

“Coercion and pressuring will not achieve anything. China will firmly defend its sovereignty, security and development interests,” the ministry said.

The response is notable at a time when both Beijing and Washington are signaling optimism and goodwill about reaching a deal to keep commercial ties between the world’s two largest economies stable — after climbing down from sky-high tariffs and harsh trade restrictions. It underscores China’s confidence in playing hardball when dealing with the Trump administration, especially when trade is linked to its energy and foreign policies.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, emerging from the talks, told reporters that when it comes to Russian oil purchases, the “Chinese take their sovereignty very seriously.”

“We don’t want to impede on their sovereignty, so they would like to pay a 100% tariff,” Bessent said.

On Thursday, he called the Chinese “tough” negotiators, but said China’s pushback hasn’t stalled the negotiations. “I believe that we have the makings of a deal,” Bessent told CNBC.

Gabriel Wildau, managing director of the consultancy Teneo, said he doubts President Donald Trump would actually deploy the 100% tariff. “Realizing those threats would derail all the recent progress and probably kill any chance” for Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping to announce a trade deal if they should meet this fall, Wildau said.

In seeking to restrict oil sales by Russia and Iran, a major source of revenue for both countries, the U.S. wants to reduce the funding available for their militaries, as Moscow pursues its war against Ukraine and Tehran funds militant groups across the Middle East.

China plays hardball

When Trump unveiled a sweeping plan for tariffs on dozens of countries in April, China was the only country that retaliated. It refused to give in to U.S. pressure.

“If the U.S. is bent on imposing tariffs, China will fight to the end, and this is China’s consistent official stance,” said Tu Xinquan, director of the China Institute for WTO Studies at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing. WTO is the acronym for the World Trade Organization.

Negotiating tactics aside, China may also suspect that the U.S. won’t follow through on its threat, questioning the importance Trump places on countering Russia, Tu said.

Scott Kennedy, senior adviser and trustee chair in Chinese Business and Economics at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, said Beijing is unlikely to change its posture when it sees inconsistencies in U.S. foreign policy goals toward Russia and Iran, whereas Beijing’s policy support for Moscow is consistent and clear. It’s also possible that Beijing may want to use it as another negotiating tool to extract more concessions from Trump, Kennedy said.

Danny Russel, a distinguished fellow at the Asia Society Policy Institute, said Beijing now sees itself as “the one holding the cards in its struggle with Washington.” He said Trump has made it clear he wants a “headline-grabbing deal” with Xi, “so rejecting a U.S. demand to stop buying oil from Iran or Russia is probably not seen as a deal‑breaker, even if it generates friction and a delay.”

Continuing to buy oil from Russia preserves Xi’s “strategic solidarity” with Russian President Vladimir Putin and significantly reduces the economic costs for China, Russel said.

“Beijing simply can’t afford to walk away from the oil from Russia and Iran,” he said. “It’s too important a strategic energy supply, and Beijing is buying it at fire‑sale prices.”

China depends on oil from Russia and Iran

A 2024 report by the U.S. Energy Information Administration estimates that roughly 80% to 90% of the oil exported by Iran went to China. The Chinese economy benefits from the more than 1 million barrels of Iranian oil it imports per day.

After the Iranian parliament floated a plan to shut down the Strait of Hormuz in June following U.S. strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities, China spoke out against closing the critical oil transit route.

China also is an important customer for Russia, but is second to India in buying Russian seaborne crude oil exports. In April, Chinese imports of Russian oil rose 20% over the previous month to more than 1.3 million barrels per day, according to the KSE Institute, an analytical center at the Kyiv School of Economics.

This past week, Trump said the U.S. will impose a 25% tariff on goods from India, plus an additional import tax because of India’s purchasing of Russian oil. India’s Foreign Ministry said Friday its relationship with Russia was “steady and time-tested.”

Stephen Miller, White House deputy chief of staff and a top policy adviser, said Trump has been clear that it is “not acceptable” for India to continue financing the Ukraine war by purchasing oil from Russia.

“People will be shocked to learn that India is basically tied with China in purchasing Russian oil,” Miller said on Fox News Channel’s “Sunday Morning Futures.” He said the U.S. needs “to get real about dealing with the financing of this war.”

Congress demands action

Sen. Lindsey Graham, a Republican from South Carolina, is pushing for sanctions and tariffs on Russia and its financial backers. In April, he introduced a bill that would authorize the president to impose tariffs as high as 500% not only on Russia but on any country that “knowingly” buys oil, uranium, natural gas, petroleum products or petrochemical products from Russia.

“The purpose of this legislation is to break the cycle of China — a communist dictatorship — buying oil below market price from Putin’s Russia, which empowers his war machine to kill innocent Ukrainian civilians,” Graham said in a June statement.

The bill has 84 co-sponsors in the 100-seat Senate. A corresponding House version has been introduced, also with bipartisan support.

Republicans say they stand ready to move on the sanctions legislation if Trump asks them to do so, but the bill is on hold for now.

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Associated Press writers David McHugh in Frankfurt and Rajesh Roy in New Delhi and researcher Yu Bing in Beijing contributed to the report.

By CHRISTOPHER WEBER

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Loni Anderson, who played a struggling radio station’s empowered receptionist on the hit TV comedy “WKRP in Cincinnati,” died Sunday, just days before her 80th birthday.

Anderson died at a Los Angeles hospital following a “prolonged” illness, said her longtime publicist, Cheryl J. Kagan.

“We are heartbroken to announce the passing of our dear wife, mother and grandmother,” Anderson’s family said in a statement.

“WKRP in Cincinnati” aired from 1978 to 1982 and was set in a flagging Ohio radio station trying to reinvent itself with rock music. The cast included Gary Sandy, Tim Reid, Howard Hesseman, Frank Bonner and Jan Smithers, alongside Anderson as the sexy and smart Jennifer Marlowe.

As the station’s receptionist, the blonde and high-heeled Jennifer used her sex appeal to deflect unwanted business calls for her boss, Mr. Carlson. Her efficiency often kept the station running in the face of others’ incompetence.

The role earned Anderson two Emmy Award nominations and three Golden Globe nominations.

Anderson starred on the big screen alongside Burt Reynolds in the 1983 comedy “Stroker Ace” and the two later married and became tabloid fixtures before their messy breakup in 1994.

Their son, Quinton Reynolds, was “the best decision that we ever made in our entire relationship,” she said during the unveiling of a bronze bust at Reynolds’ Hollywood grave site in 2021.

“I think back to the beginning of our relationship, it was so, oh, gosh, tabloidy. We were just a spectacle all the time. And it was hard to have a relationship in that atmosphere. And somehow, we did it through many ups and downs,” Anderson told The Associated Press.

Anderson detailed their tumultuous marriage in the 1995 autobiography, “My Life in High Heels,” which she said was about “the growth of a woman, a woman who survives.”

“I think if you’re going to write about yourself, you have to do it warts and all,” Anderson told the AP while promoting the book. “You may not even tell the nicest things about yourself, because you’re telling the truth.”

She married four times, most recently to Bob Flick in 2008.

Anderson was born Aug. 5, 1945, in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Her father was an environmental chemist, and her mother was a model.

Her first role as an actress was a small part in the 1966 film “Nevada Smith,” starring Steve McQueen. Most of her career was spent on the small screen with early guest parts in the 1970s on “S.W.A.T.” and “Police Woman.” After “WKRP,” Anderson starred in the short-lived comedy series “Easy Street” and appeared in made-for-TV movies including “A Letter to Three Wives” and “White Hot: The Mysterious Murder of Thelma Todd.”

In 2023 she co-starred in Lifetime’s “Ladies Of The 80s: A Divas Christmas” with Linda Gray, Donna Mills, Morgan Fairchild and Nicollette Sheridan.

“I am heartbroken to hear of the passing of the wonderful Loni Anderson!” Fairchild wrote on X. “The sweetest, most gracious lady! I’m just devastated to hear this.”

Anderson is survived by Flick, her daughter Deidra and son-in law Charlie Hoffman, son Quinton Anderson Reynolds, grandchildren McKenzie and Megan Hoffman, stepson Adam Flick and wife Helene, and step-grandchildren Felix and Maximilian.

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A private family service is planned at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery, Kagan said.

___

Associated Press journalist Itzel Luna in Los Angeles contributed.

A pair of replica Baroque instruments starred in a recent concert, “Sonate di Luce,” at the Baroque Room in St. Paul’s Lowertown, where a rising violin talent, Benjamin Lenzmeier, performed with Madison, Wis.-based historical performance enthusiast Sean Kleve, on the harpsichord.

Located on the second floor of the Northwestern Building, the Baroque Room is a brightly lit space with an intimate feeling and features a number of acoustic panels and foam to mitigate the sound. Lenzmeier beamed at the small but supportive hometown crowd.

Violinist Benjamin Lenzmeier performed on a historic violin along with Sean Kleve on harpsichord for “Sonate di Luce: Luminous sonatas from 17th and 18th century Italy” at the Baroque Room in St. Paul on Saturday, Aug. 2, 2025. (Courtesy of Sean Kleve)

Lenzmeier grew up in Minnesota. After studying music at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and performing with a number of Midwestern ensembles (including St. Paul’s Lyra Baroque Orchestra), he moved to the Netherlands to study at the Royal Conservatoire of The Hague.

Lenzmeier’s Baroque replica featured gut strings and a shorter fingerboard than modern violins. “They just didn’t play as high on the instrument,” he explained to the audience. His Baroque-style bows (he had two), meanwhile, were also shorter than today’s bows, and curved in the opposite direction compared to bows in modern times.

The shorter bow meant less room to luxuriate in a longer note, and because of the way the bows were weighted, the notes would sometimes fade out at the end, like in Biagio Marini’s Sonata No. 4, before Lenzmeier launched into an impressive double-stop section.

Despite the shorter bow, Lenzmeier managed to create volume with his instrument, like in Antonio Caldara’s Violin Sonata in F Major for Violin and Continuo, and captured a bright, forceful sound in Antonio Vivaldi’s Sonata in G minor, Op.2 No.1 (RV27).

The violinist’s fingering maintained articulation in the quick runs and ornamentation of the Baroque music, and he looked loose and relaxed even in the most virtuosic moments.

Lenzmeier also played without a chin rest or shoulder support, holding his instrument up with his arm and balancing it bare on his shoulder. The young musician’s playing style was quite physical. He moved his shoulders up and down quite a bit, as his violin danced as he played. He kept his legs mostly straight, but at times he’d raise up on his toes, and used a loose wrist when bowing, like when he whizzed through the quick notes of Arcangelo Corelli’s Sonata in D Major, Op. 5, No. 1, for violin and basso continuo.

Kleve, meanwhile, performed with a replica of an Italian harpsichord from the era, made by David Sutherland in 1984. Speaking about the instrument, Kleve said its strings were made with yellow brass wire, which doesn’t sustain a long sound, and requires clarity from the player.

For most of the works they played in the program, Kleve played the continuo part, where the bass line was composed and the upper notes were improvised. He also played one piece by Domenico Scarlatti, called Sonata in A Major, K. 208, alone on stage. He characterized the work as a “duet” for his two hands. The sonata gave a chance for Kleve to demonstrate his skill as a soloist as Lenzmeier took a short break, and demonstrated the possibility of the plucked instrument to be quite lyrical.

In all, the two musicians played music by seven Italian composers from the 17th and 18th centuries, and their enthusiasm for the old music — as well as the historical way the music was played — was infectious.

If you go

Who: Next up at the Baroque Room: Lyra Baroque musicians with Director Emeritus Jacques Ogg

What: “Flavors of Europe: A Food, Music and Wine Adventure”

When: 6 to 9 p.m. Sept. 15

Where: The Baroque Room, 275 E. Fourth St., No. 280, St. Paul

Tickets: $205 at lyrabaroque.org

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Accessibility: The Baroque Room is located on the second floor of the Northwestern Building, which has two public elevators.

Capsule: If you’re enticed by Baroque music, Lyra Baroque performs an evening of Baroque music paired with food and cuisine from around Europe, featuring Artistic Director Emeritus Jacques Ogg and Lyra musicians.

CLEVELAND — Austin Martin was one of the last players sent down as the Twins made their final roster cuts during spring training. He was in line to have been one of the first players called back up, too.

Unfortunately for Martin, his right hamstring wouldn’t cooperate. Martin first strained the hamstring chasing after a fly ball in center field on April 10. That injury left him out for nearly a month. He returned on May 6, hitting a single in his first at-bat. He didn’t make it around the bases before re-injuring the same leg. His return lasted less than a full inning as Martin once again landed on the injured list with a hamstring strain, not returning again until June 26.

It was a frustrating start to the season for Martin, once a top prospect after being selected fifth overall in the 2020 draft. But now, after the Twins traded much of their roster at the deadline creating space at the major league level, there’s an opportunity for Martin, who debuted last season, to show the Twins what he can do and the utilityman intends to make the most of it.

“That’s all I’ve ever needed was just an opportunity,” Martin said. “All I want to do is just go out and play my game.”

He certainly had been at Triple-A. Martin was hitting .306 with a .420 on-base percentage before his call up on Friday. He had three hits in his first major league game of the season on Friday and singled and scored a run on Sunday in the Twins’ 5-4 win over the Guardians, as he tries to salvage the latter part to his season.

“I knew some good would come out of it. Even in the negative situations, there’s always going to be some positives that come out of it,” Martin said. “As frustrating as it was to try to build up to get  back and first game back, first inning back, reinjuring it, it was frustrating for sure but that’s baseball. Sometimes things are going to happen.”

The positives, he said, were that he went back to the team’s complex in Fort Myers, Florida, and was able to work on his game. The tweaks he made during the offseason, he’s been able to implement and now, he feels exactly how he wants to feel in the batter’s box.

Now, it’s about showing it at the major league level as he tries to carve a role out for himself on the Twins moving forward.

“He handles everything comes his way – successes, disappointments, everything because you see a lot in this game – he handles it all well,” manager Rocco Baldelli said. “He doesn’t let things get in his way. He just keeps his head down. He works very hard. He demands a lot of himself and he just keeps going.”

Woods Richardson pushed back

The Twins had to shuffle their pitching plans this week to account for the fact that Simeon Woods Richardson is dealing with a stomach issue. The starter, who was scheduled to start the series finale in Cleveland, is now listed as the starting pitcher for Wednesday’s series finale in Detroit against the first-place Tigers.

On Sunday, he was replaced by José Ureña, who was called up on Friday and threw four innings, giving up two runs in the start. The Twins have yet to name a starter for the series opener in Detroit, though they are likely to run some kind of bullpen game.

Briefly

Second baseman Luke Keaschall is very close to rejoining the Twins with his return likely to happen this week in Detroit. Keaschall, one of the team’s top prospects, has been out since April 25 when he was hit by a pitch, fracturing his forearm. In his first seven major league games, Keaschall had provided a spark in the Twins’ lineup, hitting .368 with five stolen bases.

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