WASHINGTON: Ivanka Trump's advocacy for women and girls will take her to a conference in Berlin Tuesday, an attention-getting first international outing aimed at building support for investment in women's economic empowerment programs.
Back home, the first daughter's plan to push for policies that benefit working mothers is getting less of the spotlight.
Trump, an unpaid White House adviser, has not yet offered specific legislation or publicly revealed how she plans to move forward with the child care and family leave policies she promoted during her father's campaign. But a senior administration official says she and others have been working quietly behind the scenes to revise her campaign proposals and build momentum.
The official, who requested anonymity to discuss internal policy talks, stressed that child care is a part of the White House tax policy conversation. The president is set to roll out tax reform priorities Wednesday, but the official declined to discuss those plans in advance of the announcement.
President Donald Trump has noted his support for his daughter's efforts. In his joint address to Congress, he said he wants to work with lawmakers "to make child care accessible and affordable, to help ensure new parents have paid family leave."
Some advocates said they would like to see a proposal. Patricia Cole, senior director of federal policy for Zero to Three, a nonpartisan organization that focuses on early childhood, said, "We would really welcome a conversation."
Ivanka Trump, who stepped away from running her fashion brand to take on a White House role, will spend Tuesday in Berlin at the invitation of German Chancellor Angela Merkel. There she will attend a panel discussion as part of the W20 Summit, a women-focused effort within the Group of 20 countries. She will also take in a technical school, visit the United States embassy and go to the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe.
In advance of the summit, Ivanka Trump co-authored an op-ed in the Financial Times, calling for more global efforts to invest in women's economic empowerment.
"The evidence is overwhelming that supporting women's economic participation has enormous dividends for families, communities and whole economies," Trump wrote with Jim Yong Kim, the president of the World Bank.
Trump has spent the first three months of her father's presidency talking about women's empowerment, often at White House forums and roundtables. On Monday, she joined her father for a conversation with astronauts on the International Space Station and touted a bill the president signed that asks the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to encourage girls to study science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
"Encouraging women and girls to pursue STEM careers is a major priority for this administration," Ivanka Trump said.
Her moves toward policy have been far less public. She has met privately with lawmakers, including a sit-down with Republican women in February.
Trump's challenge is persuading a Republican-led Congress with a plate full of other priorities. Lawmakers are focused on repealing President Barack Obama's health care law and overhauling the tax code, and lawmakers are less eager to take on a proposal more likely to pique the interest of Democrats.
At Ivanka Trump's urging, Trump's campaign proposed six weeks of leave for mothers — although not fathers — with the government paying wages equivalent to unemployment benefits. The proposal also included new income tax deductions for child care expenses and a new rebate or tax credit for low-income families.
But the official said the draft child care plan has shifted away from a tax deduction —which critics say would benefit wealthier families. A plan currently under discussion would expand the child and dependent tax credit, boosting the amount, permitting it to cover up to four children and making it refundable to help low-income families with no tax burden. Higher-income households would not be eligible.
The thinking on leave policies has evolved from maternity leave to a more inclusive family leave, the official said, adding that they are also looking at other funding options beyond the savings in unemployment insurance that were originally targeted.
Ivanka Trump's prospects have some feeling optimistic.
"I do think they're going to try and I think they might get something done," said Kris Perry, executive director of the First Five Years Fund, a nonpartisan advocacy group for young children. She added that "there's also huge value in people like Ivanka speaking out on the public relations side."
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Ivanka Trump advocates for women, girls in trip to Berlin
Ivanka Trump advocates for women, girls in trip to Berlin
China positions itself as force for global stability at its annual Congress
BEIJING: While much of the world’s attention is on the Iran war, that hasn’t stopped China from moving ahead with national priorities with global repercussions.
Not that China doesn’t care about the war and its impact on energy supplies and geopolitics. But for the world’s second largest economy, its growing rivalry with the United States revolves around a different battle: the development of the cutting-edge technologies shaping the 21st century.
That message came through in a five-year plan formally endorsed Thursday by the National People’s Congress at the end of its annual meeting, the nation’s biggest political event of the year. If anything, China is doubling down on a push to transform its economy and be at the forefront of technology. State media described China’s determination to stay the course on economic development as a force for stability in an uncertain world.
“A stable and developing China injects more stability and certainty into a world fraught with change and turbulence,” the official People’s Daily newspaper said in a front-page column on Wednesday. Other state-media echoed that view.
The commentaries and official statements didn’t mention US President Donald Trump, whose tariffs and use of military force from Venezuela to Iran are shaking up the global order that has governed international relations in the post-World War II era. China publicly defends that system, while calling for making it more equitable to reflect the interests of developing countries as well as rich ones.
Trump is due to visit Beijing in three weeks to hold talks with his counterpart, Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
The National People’s Congress also rubber-stamped three laws, including one governing ethnic minorities, at its closing session. The votes are ceremonial and nearly unanimous, designed to show unity behind the ruling Communist Party’s vision for the nation. The five-year plan was approved with 2,758 votes in favor, one against, and two abstentions.
“We are forging ahead at full speed in building a great country,” Foreign Minister Wang Yi said at an annual news conference during the Congress.
Banking on tech for growth
Many economists believe that China needs to do more to put more money into the hands of consumers to boost domestic spending and reduce its dependence on export-led growth.
China’s leaders agree in concept, but the five-year plan puts technology front and center, confirming it remains the top priority. Analysts expect any steps to boost consumption to happen only gradually, such as expanding social security and health care benefits, while government funds are poured into artificial intelligence, robotics and other areas.
Chinese Premier Li Qiang announced an economic growth target of 4.5 percent to 5 percent for 2026 at the start of the Congress, a level that gives the government more leeway to focus on the longer-term goals of the five-year plan rather than meeting a higher target this year.
Staying conservative on climate
The five-year plan doesn’t pledge to reduce carbon emissions overall, but only to reduce “emissions intensity” — how much pollutants are emitted relative to the size of the economy. That means emissions could still grow as the economy does.
The target for a reduction in intensity was set at 17 percent, a level that could allow emissions to rise 3 percent or more, analysts said. “International good practice is to move away from intensity targets toward absolute emission reduction targets,” said Niklas Hohne of the NewClimate Institute in Germany.
China has a history of setting conservative targets and its rapid expansion in solar and other clean energies may drive emissions down anyway. The country is the world’s No. 1 emitter of greenhouse gases, but leaders have long argued that the size of its population and economy must be considered when evaluating its pollution levels.
Regulating ethnic groups
A sweeping ethnic minorities law endorsed by the Congress solidifies what critics say is a government policy of assimilation, emphasizing the creation of “a common consciousness of the Chinese nation.”
The government said it is meant to foster a stronger sense of community and shared economic development among its ethnic groups. The law encapsulates an approach under Xi that has promoted unity over ethnic cultures and their languages.
“It puts a death nail in the party’s original promise of meaningful autonomy,” said James Leibold, a professor at Australia’s LaTrobe University who has studied China’s changing policies toward its ethnic minorities.
Seeking a “right to rest” for workers
Formal proposals and other suggestions to reduce work hours in a variety of ways were among those that got the most attention on social media during this year’s Congress.
Many focused on a “right to rest,” including calls to give employees the right not to respond to work messages after hours. Many Chinese workers get only five days of paid vacation a year. Yu Miaojie, an economist and deputy to the Congress, proposed raising the minimum statutory annual leave from five to 10 days.
The popularity of the proposals reflects concern about the intense workplace competition in China. Giving workers more leisure time is also seen as a way to boost consumption by giving them more free time to spend.
Not that China doesn’t care about the war and its impact on energy supplies and geopolitics. But for the world’s second largest economy, its growing rivalry with the United States revolves around a different battle: the development of the cutting-edge technologies shaping the 21st century.
That message came through in a five-year plan formally endorsed Thursday by the National People’s Congress at the end of its annual meeting, the nation’s biggest political event of the year. If anything, China is doubling down on a push to transform its economy and be at the forefront of technology. State media described China’s determination to stay the course on economic development as a force for stability in an uncertain world.
“A stable and developing China injects more stability and certainty into a world fraught with change and turbulence,” the official People’s Daily newspaper said in a front-page column on Wednesday. Other state-media echoed that view.
The commentaries and official statements didn’t mention US President Donald Trump, whose tariffs and use of military force from Venezuela to Iran are shaking up the global order that has governed international relations in the post-World War II era. China publicly defends that system, while calling for making it more equitable to reflect the interests of developing countries as well as rich ones.
Trump is due to visit Beijing in three weeks to hold talks with his counterpart, Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
The National People’s Congress also rubber-stamped three laws, including one governing ethnic minorities, at its closing session. The votes are ceremonial and nearly unanimous, designed to show unity behind the ruling Communist Party’s vision for the nation. The five-year plan was approved with 2,758 votes in favor, one against, and two abstentions.
“We are forging ahead at full speed in building a great country,” Foreign Minister Wang Yi said at an annual news conference during the Congress.
Banking on tech for growth
Many economists believe that China needs to do more to put more money into the hands of consumers to boost domestic spending and reduce its dependence on export-led growth.
China’s leaders agree in concept, but the five-year plan puts technology front and center, confirming it remains the top priority. Analysts expect any steps to boost consumption to happen only gradually, such as expanding social security and health care benefits, while government funds are poured into artificial intelligence, robotics and other areas.
Chinese Premier Li Qiang announced an economic growth target of 4.5 percent to 5 percent for 2026 at the start of the Congress, a level that gives the government more leeway to focus on the longer-term goals of the five-year plan rather than meeting a higher target this year.
Staying conservative on climate
The five-year plan doesn’t pledge to reduce carbon emissions overall, but only to reduce “emissions intensity” — how much pollutants are emitted relative to the size of the economy. That means emissions could still grow as the economy does.
The target for a reduction in intensity was set at 17 percent, a level that could allow emissions to rise 3 percent or more, analysts said. “International good practice is to move away from intensity targets toward absolute emission reduction targets,” said Niklas Hohne of the NewClimate Institute in Germany.
China has a history of setting conservative targets and its rapid expansion in solar and other clean energies may drive emissions down anyway. The country is the world’s No. 1 emitter of greenhouse gases, but leaders have long argued that the size of its population and economy must be considered when evaluating its pollution levels.
Regulating ethnic groups
A sweeping ethnic minorities law endorsed by the Congress solidifies what critics say is a government policy of assimilation, emphasizing the creation of “a common consciousness of the Chinese nation.”
The government said it is meant to foster a stronger sense of community and shared economic development among its ethnic groups. The law encapsulates an approach under Xi that has promoted unity over ethnic cultures and their languages.
“It puts a death nail in the party’s original promise of meaningful autonomy,” said James Leibold, a professor at Australia’s LaTrobe University who has studied China’s changing policies toward its ethnic minorities.
Seeking a “right to rest” for workers
Formal proposals and other suggestions to reduce work hours in a variety of ways were among those that got the most attention on social media during this year’s Congress.
Many focused on a “right to rest,” including calls to give employees the right not to respond to work messages after hours. Many Chinese workers get only five days of paid vacation a year. Yu Miaojie, an economist and deputy to the Congress, proposed raising the minimum statutory annual leave from five to 10 days.
The popularity of the proposals reflects concern about the intense workplace competition in China. Giving workers more leisure time is also seen as a way to boost consumption by giving them more free time to spend.
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