TheChek News Flow

Europe Express: Macron and Merz move on from fighter jet heartbreak

The threat of a Le Pen presidency has provided an incentive for Paris and Berlin to come together

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron met in the Rhine Valley last week to try and repair relations after the acrimonious collapse of their flagship fighter jet project.

As so often in diplomacy between the two countries, the occasion was steeped in symbolism. This 26th annual Franco-German cabinet meeting took place at Augustusburg Castle, near Cologne, where Konrad Adenauer and Charles de Gaulle met in 1962 to discuss what would become the Élysée Treaty — an agreement that transformed two historic enemies into Europe’s closest partners.

This time, however, there was no grand bargain or defining new initiative. Relations have been bumpy in recent months, set back by Berlin’s decision to pull the plug on the jet element of the Future Combat Air System (FCAS).

Since Merz took office last year, the initial enthusiasm for renewed collaboration between Paris and Berlin has given way to resigned pragmatism. “We know by heart what is said about the Franco-German couple,” Macron admitted after the meeting. “The truth is, if it doesn't move forward, Europe doesn't move forward.”

Reimagining a post-FCAS method

Both leaders reaffirmed their commitment to developing a joint combat cloud, the digital system designed to link aircraft, drones, sensors and command systems. But the months-long industrial dispute between contractors Dassault Aviation and Airbus has left deep scars.

Macron and Merz called for a new approach to managing joint defence projects. At stake is the future of the Main Ground Combat System, the Franco-German programme to develop the next generation battle tank that will replace France’s Leclerc and Germany’s Leopard 2. The project has been mired in delays and industrial wrangling.

Yet the two leaders appeared to differ on what the new approach should look like. Macron, who launched FCAS alongside then-Chancellor Angela Merkel at a similar cabinet meeting in 2017, argued for tighter governmental oversight to prevent such programmes from “drifting”. From Merz’s perspective, “industrial differences” cannot simply be overridden by political will.

FCAS is likely to serve as a cautionary tale, prompting Paris and Berlin to pursue smaller, more clearly defined forms of co-operation, according to Paul Maurice at the French Institute of International Relations. Such an approach would better suit Germany’s growing defence ambitions. “2017 — the era of the big speeches, the grand visions — is over,” Maurice said. “The world has completely changed.”

Merz’s hawkish shift on China

The two leaders seemed most in agreement on a tougher approach to China. That largely reflects a recent shift in Merz’s own thinking, according to government insiders.

The Chancellor was particularly forceful in discussions about how to better protect EU manufacturers from heavily subsidised Chinese imports and a devalued renminbi, one participant said. German carmakers continue to invest heavily in China despite official calls to “de-risk” and, according to Berlin government sources, are lobbying Merz’s coalition to go easy on trade measures being discussed in Brussels. But they are also shedding jobs and shutting down plants at home, spreading the pain to the country’s Mittelstand.

Macron appeared notably pleased, saying the two countries had “never been as aligned” on the issue. Merz did not contradict him, adding that China’s “€1bn-a-day” trade surplus with the EU “cannot carry on like this.” Paris and Berlin will outline joint proposals in September.

“It’s gradual, but we can see that Germany is starting to shift on the issue of European measures in the face of Chinese industry and its subsidies,” Maurice said.

Guntram Wolff at Bruegel was “disappointed” the two leaders failed to agree on joint measures at the joint cabinet meeting itself. But this is due to divergences within both Merz’s own government and his Christian Democratic Union party. While the German chancellor has recently “become a [China] hawk”, his economy minister Katherina Reiche, who hails from the CDU, is a dove, Wolff said.

The ghost of Marine Le Pen

The possible victory of Marine Le Pen in next year’s French presidential elections hung over the discussions. “It’s the elephant in the room,” Maurice said.

One participant said that the threat acted as an incentive rather than an inhibitor, with a German side willing to “engage, engage, engage with Paris” to cement whatever could be cemented in the next months. This is why Berlin is urging Paris to reach a compromise on the EU’s 2028-2034 budget plans.

But this is also where the French election campaign may clash with German demands: Merz wants the EU to trim agriculture spending and reduce cohesion funds to make space for increased defence and innovation spending.

Macron suggested Berlin would have to relent and agree to “smart cuts” that would preserve an “ambitious agricultural budget.” “Unfortunately for me it’s my third [EU budget] negotiation, I know what I am talking about,” said the Brussels-savvy president.

Europe “has built food sovereignty after the war, we need to defend it”, he added.

Both leaders insisted that closer Franco-German co-operation on nuclear deterrence would outlast any change of government in Paris, arguing that it reflected shared security interests rather than political alignment.

Macron insisted his offer to associate Germany more closely with France’s nuclear doctrine had no financial implication for Berlin. “The goal is to improve the continent’s security deterrence by fuelling even more uncertainty in our adversaries,” he said.

But this, as with many other topics including defence, EU enlargement, support for Ukraine and EU energy markets, would likely become more complicated for Paris and Berlin under a Le Pen presidency.

“The German hand will always be extended for deep, trustful co-operation with France, regardless of voters’ choice,” Merz said. Whether a President Le Pen would reciprocate is far less certain.

The best way to spend the summer? Studying St Augustine

Or medieval magic, Mesopotamian demons or K-pop — the online courses opening up a whole world of art, history, philosophy and, yes, teen idols

It begins with a late-night Google search in January. I am looking for the author of a quote — “our heart is restless until it rests in you” — which is attributed to a “church father” in an article I’ve just read about why we binge-watch TV shows. My dive down this internet rabbit hole eventually leads me to a University of Oxford course on St Augustine, the fifth-century North African bishop who shaped western thinking for a thousand years and beyond. The price is £360; there are no entry requirements, and the expected study time is 10 hours a week. On a whim, I sign up.

What follows is transformational. Over the next two and a half months, Susan Griffith, a member of the Department of Theology and Religion, leads a group of 20 students ranging from a 91-year-old retired teacher in Canada to pastors in the US and undergraduates from various countries (the course comes with transferable credits if you complete the written assignments) through the various stages of Augustine’s life, work and intellectual trajectory.

The weekly video discussions are lively. Early on, one student proposes that Augustine was “clearly gay” because of his outpouring of grief at the death of a male friend in his autobiographical masterpiece Confessions. Griffith explains why this is unlikely, warns of the dangers of reading historical texts with a contemporary mindset, and encourages us to say anything in her class anyway; there are no stupid ideas here (in fact, there are several stupid ideas expressed here, mostly by me).

But as I spend the long winter evenings reading the words of a man who lived 16 centuries ago, it’s as though I’m being slowly unhooked from the matrix — the stultifying Instagram scrolling, the mindless Netflix streaming — and taught how to focus again. And it’s exhilarating.

Seven months on and I am now fully addicted to online learning. Though I’ve been an avid reader for much of my life, in recent years I’ve been distracted by the pressures of work and the grind of responsibilities, and have struggled to finish anything other than trashy novels or audiobooks. Now, I’m making up for lost time.

As I write this, I am one week away from completing a class on Josephus’s The Jewish War, an astounding eyewitness account of the Roman suppression of revolt in Judaea and the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem in 70AD, taught by Zoë Eisenman at the University of Chicago’s Graham School, its standalone institute for adult education ($350). I am taking two courses at Stanford University, one on “Demystifying AI” ($470), the other on K-pop ($365) — why not? — and I am slowly working my way through a lecture series and reading list on medieval history at Yale (available on YouTube for free) and another on the possibility of alien life taught by David Spergel, a theoretical astrophysicist who is professor emeritus at Princeton. This is also available for free, on Coursera, a subscription platform for online classes which has 205mn registered users, according to its first quarter financial results for 2026.

There is no hard data on the number of short courses offered by universities in Britain and the US, nor on the number of students taking them, but the University of Oxford reports a “significant growth in demand” since the pandemic, according to a spokesperson. In the academic year 2024-25, its Lifelong Learning division taught more than 15,000 students from 140 countries on more than 700 short courses — both online and in person — ranging from classes in medieval magic, Renaissance art and Tudor history to urban planning, artificial intelligence and psychological disorders, among myriad others in every discipline. 

The overall supply of such teaching from the sector “has definitely increased in the 10-plus years that I’ve been working in higher education”, says Neil Mosley, a consultant specialising in online courses. “Institutions are taking a range of approaches: some want to maximise numbers and therefore focus on subjects with traditionally high enrolment such as business, management, law and, most recently, artificial intelligence, while others use this programming as a way of fulfilling their mandates of offering education to everyone.”

The Courtauld Institute in London, the prestigious art history college that is part of the University of London, sees itself in the latter camp. Next year, it is launching its own open university programme, which will help fulfil the vision of its industrialist founder, says the initiative’s director Jane Fletcher. “Nearly 100 years ago, Samuel Courtauld talked about art for all, and our open university programming can truly be the embodiment of that. We’re breaking down the barriers to entry for people, both geographically and financially.” 

It’s not just universities offering online teaching for the general public. In June, I joined the British Museum’s first such course, on the subject of Mesopotamian art (£95), which you need a museum membership to sign up for. Five curators take it in turns to present video classes on their respective areas of expertise, including cuneiform tablets, excavations in Iraq and magic, divination and medicine. I can now write 10 words in cuneiform and tell you why the director of The Exorcist got the plot point about an ancient Mesopotamian demon called Pazuzu possessing the film’s protagonist, Regan, badly wrong (spoiler alert: Pazuzu is on our side, it’s Lamashtu we need to worry about).

“We have so many leading specialists under one roof here and this is a really nice way of sharing their expertise with our members around the world,” says Celine Nonde, senior supporter engagement manager, who adds that there will be more curator-led courses for British Museum members over the coming year.

Next, I attend a set of three online classes on Zurbarán and 17th-century Spanish painting hosted by the National Gallery (£45) to tie in with its current exhibition on the artist — I pass the quiz asking us to distinguish works by Zurbarán, Velázquez and Murillo with flying colours — and then move on to a surprisingly engaging, pre-recorded series of nine short lectures on English embroidery available on the V&A website (£45). Presented by Jennifer Wearden, formerly the museum’s senior curator of textiles, these are worth the price for the first talk alone, a timely examination of the Bayeux Tapestry — not actually a tapestry at all, but the most famous embroidery of all time — which is soon going on display at the British Museum.

While I enjoy all these museum lectures, for teaching that stays with you there’s no substitute for interactive discussions with fellow students led by university specialists. If you know you’re going to have to contribute to a conversation about St Augustine’s City of God, for example, you’re going to do the required reading and try hard to formulate interesting thoughts about it. 

The popularity of such courses — the counterpoint to grim headlines about falling literacy rates and declining attention spans — should encourage us all. There’s a whole universe of art and history, theology and philosophy, psychiatry, science, technology and, yes, even K-pop out there, and it’s accessible to anyone with an internet connection and a curious mind. So ditch the Netflix subscription and let’s get started.

Belgian officials say operations have not been compromised after a Canadian national of Chinese origin is detained

A Canadian woman of Chinese origin who was interning at Nato’s military headquarters has been arrested on charges of spying, Belgian authorities said on Saturday.

Belgian military intelligence and federal police launched an investigation after suspicions were raised by officials at Supreme Headquarters Allied Command Europe (Shape). The unnamed suspect’s home and workplace was then searched on Thursday and she was arrested the following day, they said.

“A Canadian national of Chinese origin, an intern at Shape, was served with an arrest warrant on Friday 24 July 2026. She is suspected of spying on behalf of a third country and of being a member of a criminal organisation,” the Belgian Federal Prosecutor’s Office said in a statement.

It did not name the woman or provide details of the country she is suspected of spying for.

Shape, a sprawling military base close to Mons in western Belgium, is Nato’s military strategic headquarters, where the military alliance’s commanders plan and execute global operations and co-ordinate responses to threats.

“At this time, there is no indication that Nato or Shape operational readiness, command and control arrangements, or ongoing tasks have been adversely affected,” Shape spokesperson Martin O’Donnell said in a statement. “Shape continues to fulfil its responsibilities without interruption.”

Belgium, which also hosts Nato’s civilian headquarters on the outskirts of Brussels, the European Commission and dozens of other EU agencies, has previously been targeted by foreign espionage attempts.

Last year a Chinese cyber attack against its intelligence services was revealed and a Belgian police officer was detained on charges of spying for China and Russia.

The best way to spend the summer? Studying St Augustine

Or medieval magic, Mesopotamian demons or K-pop — the online courses opening up a whole world of art, history, philosophy and, yes, teen idols

It begins with a late-night Google search in January. I am looking for the author of a quote — “our heart is restless until it rests in you” — which is attributed to a “church father” in an article I’ve just read about why we binge-watch TV shows. My dive down this internet rabbit hole eventually leads me to a University of Oxford course on St Augustine, the fifth-century North African bishop who shaped western thinking for a thousand years and beyond. The price is £360; there are no entry requirements, and the expected study time is 10 hours a week. On a whim, I sign up.

What follows is transformational. Over the next two and a half months, Susan Griffith, a member of the Department of Theology and Religion, leads a group of 20 students ranging from a 91-year-old retired teacher in Canada to pastors in the US and undergraduates from various countries (the course comes with transferable credits if you complete the written assignments) through the various stages of Augustine’s life, work and intellectual trajectory.

The weekly video discussions are lively. Early on, one student proposes that Augustine was “clearly gay” because of his outpouring of grief at the death of a male friend in his autobiographical masterpiece Confessions. Griffith explains why this is unlikely, warns of the dangers of reading historical texts with a contemporary mindset, and encourages us to say anything in her class anyway; there are no stupid ideas here (in fact, there are several stupid ideas expressed here, mostly by me).

But as I spend the long winter evenings reading the words of a man who lived 16 centuries ago, it’s as though I’m being slowly unhooked from the matrix — the stultifying Instagram scrolling, the mindless Netflix streaming — and taught how to focus again. And it’s exhilarating.

Seven months on and I am now fully addicted to online learning. Though I’ve been an avid reader for much of my life, in recent years I’ve been distracted by the pressures of work and the grind of responsibilities, and have struggled to finish anything other than trashy novels or audiobooks. Now, I’m making up for lost time.

As I write this, I am one week away from completing a class on Josephus’s The Jewish War, an astounding eyewitness account of the Roman suppression of revolt in Judaea and the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem in 70AD, taught by Zoë Eisenman at the University of Chicago’s Graham School, its standalone institute for adult education ($350). I am taking two courses at Stanford University, one on “Demystifying AI” ($470), the other on K-pop ($365) — why not? — and I am slowly working my way through a lecture series and reading list on medieval history at Yale (available on YouTube for free) and another on the possibility of alien life taught by David Spergel, a theoretical astrophysicist who is professor emeritus at Princeton. This is also available for free, on Coursera, a subscription platform for online classes which has 205mn registered users, according to its first quarter financial results for 2026.

There is no hard data on the number of short courses offered by universities in Britain and the US, nor on the number of students taking them, but the University of Oxford reports a “significant growth in demand” since the pandemic, according to a spokesperson. In the academic year 2024-25, its Lifelong Learning division taught more than 15,000 students from 140 countries on more than 700 short courses — both online and in person — ranging from classes in medieval magic, Renaissance art and Tudor history to urban planning, artificial intelligence and psychological disorders, among myriad others in every discipline. 

The overall supply of such teaching from the sector “has definitely increased in the 10-plus years that I’ve been working in higher education”, says Neil Mosley, a consultant specialising in online courses. “Institutions are taking a range of approaches: some want to maximise numbers and therefore focus on subjects with traditionally high enrolment such as business, management, law and, most recently, artificial intelligence, while others use this programming as a way of fulfilling their mandates of offering education to everyone.”

The Courtauld Institute in London, the prestigious art history college that is part of the University of London, sees itself in the latter camp. Next year, it is launching its own open university programme, which will help fulfil the vision of its industrialist founder, says the initiative’s director Jane Fletcher. “Nearly 100 years ago, Samuel Courtauld talked about art for all, and our open university programming can truly be the embodiment of that. We’re breaking down the barriers to entry for people, both geographically and financially.” 

It’s not just universities offering online teaching for the general public. In June, I joined the British Museum’s first such course, on the subject of Mesopotamian art (£95), which you need a museum membership to sign up for. Five curators take it in turns to present video classes on their respective areas of expertise, including cuneiform tablets, excavations in Iraq and magic, divination and medicine. I can now write 10 words in cuneiform and tell you why the director of The Exorcist got the plot point about an ancient Mesopotamian demon called Pazuzu possessing the film’s protagonist, Regan, badly wrong (spoiler alert: Pazuzu is on our side, it’s Lamashtu we need to worry about).

“We have so many leading specialists under one roof here and this is a really nice way of sharing their expertise with our members around the world,” says Celine Nonde, senior supporter engagement manager, who adds that there will be more curator-led courses for British Museum members over the coming year.

Next, I attend a set of three online classes on Zurbarán and 17th-century Spanish painting hosted by the National Gallery (£45) to tie in with its current exhibition on the artist — I pass the quiz asking us to distinguish works by Zurbarán, Velázquez and Murillo with flying colours — and then move on to a surprisingly engaging, pre-recorded series of nine short lectures on English embroidery available on the V&A website (£45). Presented by Jennifer Wearden, formerly the museum’s senior curator of textiles, these are worth the price for the first talk alone, a timely examination of the Bayeux Tapestry — not actually a tapestry at all, but the most famous embroidery of all time — which is soon going on display at the British Museum.

While I enjoy all these museum lectures, for teaching that stays with you there’s no substitute for interactive discussions with fellow students led by university specialists. If you know you’re going to have to contribute to a conversation about St Augustine’s City of God, for example, you’re going to do the required reading and try hard to formulate interesting thoughts about it. 

The popularity of such courses — the counterpoint to grim headlines about falling literacy rates and declining attention spans — should encourage us all. There’s a whole universe of art and history, theology and philosophy, psychiatry, science, technology and, yes, even K-pop out there, and it’s accessible to anyone with an internet connection and a curious mind. So ditch the Netflix subscription and let’s get started.

OpenAI is relaunching Health in ChatGPT, the AI-powered feature that connects to Apple Health on iPhone. The relaunch comes with expanded access and a big step forward in results.

OpenAI originally started piloting its ChatGPT Health feature in January. Early feedback reported lackluster results, however, which is probably why we haven’t heard about the feature in months.

Today, OpenAI is reintroducing ChatGPT Health and expanding access beyond the initial wave of testers.

“Health in ChatGPT is launching to U.S. users,” OpenAI says. “You can choose to securely connect Apple Health and supported medical records so ChatGPT can help you understand your information in context, keep track of what has changed, and have more informed, personalized conversations.”

OpenAI says the new version builds on feedback from the initial round of testing.

“With your permission, ChatGPT can now draw on relevant information you’ve connected in Health to help you compare a new result with prior tests, summarize changes since your last appointment, or explore how sleep, activity, and workouts relate to your routine,” OpenAI adds.

ChatGPT Health should also benefit from OpenAI improving its frontier models since the start of this year.

“We’re beginning to roll out Health to logged-in ChatGPT users 18 and older in the U.S. on web and iOS across Free, Go, Plus, and Pro plans today,” OpenAI says. “Open Health from the sidebar in ChatGPT to get started. Health is not yet available in Codex.”

You can read more about the relaunch of ChatGPT Health here : https://openai.com/index/health-in-chatgpt/

The Short and Long of the Latest in Summer Dressing Out of Tokyo

New Japanese government regulations allowing shorts at work in the summer heat are stirring debate — and perhaps a trend — worldwide.

The summer heat? A desire to ditch worries over the war in Iran and oil prices? The giggle-ready idea of government officials co-signing fashion trends? A new twist in the dress-casual narrative?

Whatever it is, shorts are suddenly in the spotlight.

Like many trends and proto trends, this one started in Tokyo — but not with the cool kids in Harajuku, but by the office thermostat.

Yuriko Koike, currently governor of Tokyo, launched her “Cool Biz” campaign over 20 years ago when she led the country’s Environment Ministry, encouraging buttoned-up male and female workers to shed layers in scorching summers.

This summer, shorts were given the Cool Biz greenlight for men, sparking interest around the world as The New York Times, BBC and others picked up on the controversy, and the general dislike of leg hair in Japan.

Could it happen outside of Japan? Queries to a number of the big New York banks, companies with “professional” profiles and even several fashion brands, went unanswered.

Still, the dress code and defense thereof is not what it once was.

And while many people are aware that their company has a dress code, most don’t really know what it calls for until some kind of fashion mishap happens.

Largely, it is social norms, including workplace norms, that police the knees and below.

Douglas Hand, an attorney at Hand Baldachin & Associates with a long list of fashion clients, said the unwritten dress code at his firm is “look professional.”

“Unless you are playing tennis or soccer or perhaps employed as a forest ranger, shorts do not look professional,” Hand said. “That said, as a fashion law firm we do support our clients and several have offered more tailored shorts that actually are intended to be worn with a jacket and tie as a suit.

“I’ve been known to wear those on occasions when the heat index has risen precipitously but I still want to show respect for my clients and respect for the work,” he said. “If a gentleman is going to wear shorts to work he should also ensure his legs are in shape and the shorts are tailored and fitted as a pair of slacks are — no drawstrings or elastic waistbands.”

That probably goes for most of the dressier professions.

After the 25-year headlong casualization of fashion and with the pandemic shift to work from home unwinding, everybody is becoming just a little more formal again, said Sonia Lapinsky, leader of fashion retail and managing director at AlixPartners.

“Assortments are now morphing and changing,” Lapinsky said. “Athleisure is no longer the headline of the day. That’s now behind us. People are looking for more variety in their wardrobes and don’t want to wear the same thing everywhere they go.

“Even footwear, casual footwear of course is still number one,” she said. “But younger generations want heels again. They feel like they missed out because there was a whole generation that never wore a pair of high heels. And now there’s a bit of nostalgia for the time when dress shoes were a thing.”

But the thrust behind the shorts hubbub in Tokyo is something that resonates in the broader fashion ecosystem.

“Nobody’s going away from comfort,” Lapinsky said. “The suiting needs to have a cut and fit that still feels more natural and more comfortable à la athleisure. And same with other areas of clothing. Shorts are part of that whole, we just want to be comfortable when it’s hot.”

New York, though, might not be so ready for the work short, even if it’s allowed.

“In the U.S., we’re so over-air-conditioned,” Lapinsky said. “I can see the rest of the world even adopting some of this cool clothing — it’s a heat wave in Europe that they’ve never seen before.”

The U.S. Department of Justice has charged two Volkswagen engineers with securities fraud for an alleged insider-trading scheme connected to the German automaker’s joint venture with Rivian.

The indictment, unsealed Friday by the U.S. District Attorney for the Southern District of New York, alleges that Michael Stamp and Marcus Plank made more than $300,000 by using confidential insider information. Stamp and Plank allegedly bought Rivian stock and options after learning that the EV maker and Volkswagen planned to form a joint venture — internally codenamed “Project Climb” — but before the companies made any public announcements.

Rivian and Volkswagen announced plans for the joint venture on June 25, 2024, which would focus on developing electric vehicle architecture and software. Volkswagen initially committed to invest $5 billion in Rivian, with the capital to be released as the companies achieve certain milestones. The joint venture has since grown to $5.8 billion, and Volkswagen is now Rivian’s largest shareholder.

Rivian’s stock price rose 23% following the initial announcement in June. Stamp and Plank then allegedly sold their Rivian positions, with Stamp realizing about $250,000 in profits, Plank realizing about $50,000, and Plank’s close family member realizing about $12,000, as detailed in the indictment.

U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton said in a statement Friday:

Investigators allege the two engineers understood their actions were illegal. Eight days prior to the joint venture was announced, Stamp searched “statute of limitations insider trading,” and Plank’s close family member searched, in German, “how is insider trading prosecuted?,” according to the indictment.

The pair, who both live in San Jose, were arrested Friday and will appear in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. The case has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Katherine Polk Failla. Stamp and Plank face up to 25 years in prison if convicted of federal securities fraud.

Rivian declined comment. A Volkswagen spokesperson said the company is aware of the Department of Justice’s action today involving two individuals.

“The action is focused on specific individuals and does not involve allegations against the company,” the Volkswagen spokesperson said in an email statement. “As this is an ongoing matter, we are unable to comment further.”

The article was updated to include Volkswagen’s comment.

Two of the president’s priorities—cutting prices for U.S. consumers and increasing domestic semiconductor output—come into conflict

WASHINGTON—Apple’s AAPL 3.53%increase; up pointing triangle aggressive lobbying campaign to alleviate rising costs by using Chinese memory chips is colliding with an equally strong push by major supplier Micron Technology MU -6.99%decrease; down pointing triangle to block the move, putting President Trump in the middle of a clash between two of America’s biggest companies.

In recent weeks, Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook and top executives have pitched Trump and officials including Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on a plan to use memory chips from China’s ChangXin Memory Technologies and Yangtze Memory Technologies in Apple products sold outside the U.S., people familiar with the discussions said.

The move would help alleviate the global pinch on memory chips and potentially reduce prices for American consumers, Apple has argued.

Those arguments have been countered by Micron MU -6.99%decrease; down pointing triangle, the only sizable U.S. maker of memory chips. Micron executives including CEO Sanjay Mehrotra have warned Lutnick and other administration officials that allowing CXMT and other Chinese companies to sell to U.S. tech companies, regardless of the region of sale, could destroy the domestic industry the same way China played a role in decimating U.S. steel and manufacturing plants, the people said.

Apple and other memory chip buyers have avoided the Chinese suppliers after they were deemed Chinese military companies by the Pentagon in recent years. YMTC is also on a trade blacklist known as the entity list.

The lobbying fight will likely force Trump to choose between two of his top economic priorities: cutting prices for U.S. consumers and increasing domestic semiconductor production to reduce dependence on other countries. The president has shied away from restrictions on Chinese companies while trade negotiations continue and praised both Apple and Micron for investing in the U.S.

White House spokesman Kush Desai said the administration would pursue “investments and economic relief for the American people while safeguarding our national security.”

Micron executives argue the company can help address the memory squeeze by building domestic plants faster and investing more at home, the people said. The company has said price increases on consumer electronics, including Apple devices, result from more than just higher prices for memory.

Trump has said he wants to significantly increase U.S. chip production by the time he leaves office.

“The most important thing is we have to build capacity here. We obviously don’t want to be doing business with anyone that’s on the entity list,” Michael Kratsios, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, told lawmakers this week.

The battle deepens the thorny debate within the administration over Chinese technology. Chinese companies recently released powerful artificial-intelligence models, prompting some U.S. executives to call for protections from lower-cost Chinese rivals. Among their opponents are startup founders and investors who argue that lower costs spur innovation.

As one of the largest buyers of memory chips, Apple for years has hammered Micron and rival suppliers for the lowest prices on components crucial to its devices. The memory makers need Apple’s huge volumes to keep their manufacturing facilities running at capacity.

The negotiations have been so bruising that bad blood has built up. Before he was CEO of Micron, Mehrotra ran Sandisk, another supplier of memory chips to Apple. At Sandisk, his distaste for Apple was so strong that he rarely met with the company, people familiar with his career said. The antipathy remains today, the people said.

The AI revolution has reversed this dynamic and dealt Mehrotra a stronger hand. Data-center titans buy huge amounts of memory at higher prices, robbing Apple of its leverage. The resulting supply shortage has enabled the memory makers to increase prices, which have quadrupled over the past year and are expected to rise further, according to research firm TechInsights. Shares of producers have also soared.

Apple is crying foul, arguing that Micron’s gross profit margins, now surpassing 80%, are evidence of price gouging. The iPhone maker also claims that Micron isn’t reinvesting fast enough to increase supply, and that the production capacity it is adding will be disproportionately allocated to AI customers. Industries from medical devices to autos have asked the administration for help addressing the shortage.

Micron says it supplies many industries and plans to spend $250 billion in the U.S. to boost capacity. “The strategic importance of leading-edge memory and storage has never been greater,” a spokeswoman said. Apple and other customers squeezed suppliers during past downturns, sowing the seeds for current shortages, memory executives say. Chinese memory chip prices have also increased.

The Financial Times earlier reported on Apple’s request to use Chinese memory chips.

Both companies have deep lobbying connections, though Apple has a friendly relationship with Trump going back to his first term.

Lutnick regularly speaks with Cook and Mehrotra about the administration’s goals of increasing domestic investment and U.S. chip production, people familiar with the discussions said. The commerce secretary has recently attended several Micron events celebrating manufacturing progress. Both CEOs have appeared with Trump in the Oval Office and traveled with him to China earlier this year.

Both companies have contributed funding to the new White House ballroom and made public shows of supporting Trump. Last year, Cook gave Trump a plaque with a gold base in the Oval Office, part of a campaign to win tariff exemptions. Micron recently said it would invest $250 million to match federal funding for so-called Trump savings accounts for newborn children of employees and those in states where the company operates.

This isn’t the first time Apple has tried to work with Chinese memory suppliers. In 2022, Apple had gone through the painstaking engineering work with YMTC to make sure its chips could meet Apple’s exacting specifications. When word of the budding supply relationship was made public, Apple faced blowback. Marco Rubio, then a senator, told the Financial Times that Apple was “playing with fire.” Other lawmakers also criticized the move and the Biden administration added the company to the entity list.

Now secretary of state, Rubio and his office have some involvement in the continuing discussions, but Lutnick and Bessent are seen as spearheading the effort, according to people familiar with the matter.