Beijing — A bomb exploded outside the US embassy in Beijing on Thursday, wounding the lone assailant, the embassy said in a statement, but police described the weapon merely as a "firework device". The explosion happened in a public space off the southeast corner of the embassy compound, the embassy said. Beijing police said the suspect, a 26-year-old man from China’s Inner Mongolia region, had injured his hand. Police did not provide a motive, but China and the US have been involved in an escalating trade dispute initiated by the Trump administration after the two sides imposed tariffs on $34bn worth of each other’s goods. Witnesses told Reuters they heard an explosion near the embassy and felt tremors. A police SUV appeared to have been damaged, with its back windshield missing, and was cordoned off by police before being removed, a Reuters witness said. Crowds were still queuing outside the embassy after the explosion and traffic was moving as normal in an area of northeastern Be...
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