Joe Biden and Xi Jinping maintain summit in try and stabilise relations

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Good morning. Joe Biden and Xi Jinping held a high-profile summit in San Francisco earlier right this moment in a renewed try and stabilise US-China relations.

The US administration performed down expectations forward of the assembly, the leaders’ first since 2021, saying it was targeted on managing dangers of additional deterioration within the relationship slightly than producing splashy outcomes.

“We now have to make sure that competitors doesn’t result in battle,” Biden advised Xi because the assembly started, including that the international locations may work collectively on points starting from synthetic intelligence to the local weather. Shortly earlier than the assembly, the US and China agreed to speed up the rollout of renewable vitality to displace their heavy reliance on fossil fuels.

“Planet Earth is sufficiently big for the 2 international locations to succeed,” Xi mentioned. Observe the developments from the summit right here, and atone for the newest US-China information:

• Chinese language economic system: China’s client and industrial exercise expanded quicker than anticipated in October, including to hopes of enchancment because the economic system continues to grapple with a sluggish restoration from the pandemic.

• Interview: A Shanghai-based producer has accused the Biden administration of fostering a “xenophobic” surroundings for Chinese language traders.

• Funding restrictions: The principle US federal authorities pension fund is to exclude China- and Hong Kong-listed shares in response to rising tensions between the world’s two largest economies.

Right here’s what else I’m retaining tabs on right this moment:

• Apec: The Asia-Pacific Financial Cooperation discussion board continues in San Francisco, however Joe Biden’s plan to announce an Indo-Pacific commerce deal on the gathering has been derailed.

• Firms: Alibaba, Lenovo and Walmart are amongst these reporting earnings.

• Spain: Appearing prime minister Pedro Sánchez is anticipated to safe a second time period in a parliamentary vote as anger grows over an amnesty deal that has grow to be the value for the Socialist chief to retain energy.

5 extra prime tales

1. Taiwan’s two principal opposition events have agreed to place their respective candidates on a joint ticket for January’s hotly contested presidential election. The deal sharply will increase the chances that the ruling Democratic Progressive occasion will lose energy. Right here’s how that would have an effect on relations with Beijing.

2. Israeli troops had been looking out Gaza’s largest hospital in what they referred to as a “focused” operation to search out Hamas weapons and infrastructure, as concern grew for 1000’s of sufferers and civilians sheltering on the web site. The IDF says al-Shifa hospital sits on prime of underground tunnels housing Hamas command centres, claims that medical doctors on the medical facility have repeatedly dismissed. Learn the newest on the battle.

• US stance on warfare: Joe Biden is beneath mounting stress to rein in Israel’s navy marketing campaign inside a matter of weeks, as US allies and administration officers recoil on the mounting dying toll in Gaza.

3. EY has appointed Janet Truncale to be its subsequent international chief government. Truncale would be the first lady accountable for a Large 4 accounting agency, and replaces Carmine Di Sibio, who’s retiring within the wake of a failed plan to spin off EY’s consulting arm.

4. Microsoft has unveiled its first bespoke chips for synthetic intelligence within the cloud. The brand new processors will probably be deployed in its Azure information centres subsequent yr, supporting its companies together with OpenAI and Copilot. The launch comes as builders search various suppliers to Nvidia, which dominates the marketplace for AI processors.

5. SoftBank’s Imaginative and prescient Fund has been accused of “destroying” a Gen Z-focused social media firm it as soon as valued at greater than $1bn to safeguard its popularity as an investor. The co-founders of IRL allege in a lawsuit that the Japanese group concocted a “flagrant, outrageous lie” that the app was virtually fully populated by bots as a pretext for closing the struggling start-up in June.

The Large Learn

Is Indonesia lastly set to grow to be an financial superpower? 4 years after President Joko Widodo ratified his $32bn dream to maneuver the capital from Jakarta to Nusantara, an equatorial outpost on Borneo, the hassle has been criticised as an costly self-importance undertaking. In an interview with the FT, Widodo argues it’s a likelihood to rework the nation’s financial geography.

We’re additionally studying . . . 

• ICBC’s position in US Treasury market: The disruption attributable to the hack of China’s largest lender reveals how the financial institution has grow to be an vital hyperlink within the $26tn market.

• Whistleblower protections: A sequence of company scandals has lately laid naked the weak spot of authorized protections for whistleblowers in Japan, writes Kana Inagaki.

• Industrial motion: Bangladesh garment exporters say western vogue manufacturers usually are not paying “moral” costs, as protests over wages sparked manufacturing facility closures.

Chart of the day

Japan’s third-quarter gross home product declined 2.1 per cent on an annualised foundation, a sharper contraction than anticipated. The decline underscores the fragility of the nation’s post-pandemic restoration and complicates the Financial institution of Japan’s efforts to unwind its ultra-loose financial coverage.

Take a break from the information

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Further contributions from Euan Healy and George Russell