According to the US Department of Agriculture, global production of sugar is up 9 million tons to a record of 180 million metrics tons a year and consumption hovers at the 172 million metric ton level, also a record high level

Tensions on the Korean Peninsula escalated recently after US President Donald Trump threatened to deal with the DPRK with "fire and fury" last month[Photo/Xinhua]UNITED NATIONS - The United Nations Security Council has condemned the latest missile launch by Pyongyang and urged a peaceful solution to the crisis on the Korean Peninsula

We should engage in meaningful negotiations," he told reporters after the consultations"Chinese ambassador to the United States Cui Tiankai said Friday "both China and the United States benefit from bilateral trade, so efforts to undermine Sino-US trade, or even slapping sanctions on China, I think would be off-targetTo ease tensions, China has been committed to a peaceful solution by supporting Security Council sanctions on one hand, and on the other proposing initiatives which aim to suspend hostilities by both Pyongyang and Washington

The ambassador said the US should refrain from issuing more threatsInstead, Washington should do more to find effective ways to resume dialogue and negotiations

cn]The United States should do more to resolve the nuclear crisis on the Korean Peninsula than it has, Chinese Ambassador to the US Cui Tiankai said on Friday

Cui made the remarks on the sidelines of a reception at the embassy in Washington to mark the 68th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of ChinaAnd despite the Philippines being the most pro-Trump nation in Pew's spring 37-country survey, confidence in Trump now is lower than it was in then-President Barack Obama in 2015

The Philippines under Duterte has tried to develop an independent foreign policy rather than being a US puppet most of the timeSince becoming Philippines president in June 2016, Rodrigo Duterte has refused to be used by the US to advance its strategy

That was certainly not the policy under Obama when he launched the US pivot-to-Asia policy, trying to gang up US allies on ChinaAnd on global economic status, about half of Filipinos (49 percent) say that the US is still the leading economic power, but that is down from 66 percent who said so in 2015