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☆ G7 leaders gather on China's doorstep to seek unified response to Beijing
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Nectar Gan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

‘Economic coercion’Another important theme of the summit will be economic security, including how to counter China’s economic pressure tactics. As the G7 summit gets underway, Chinese officials will be closely watching from Beijing and will not hide their displeasure, experts say. In the lead-up to the summit, Beijing has already berated a statement by G7 foreign ministers. Similarly, Beijing also lashed out at accusations of its “economic coercion,” claiming it is the “victim of US economic coercion” rather than a perpetrator. And while China is not invited to Hiroshima, it is hosting its own summit with Central Asia countries, experts noted.

☆ G7 leaders reckon with Ukraine, haunted by Hiroshima nuclear legacy
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Trevor Hunnicutt | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

HIROSHIMA, Japan, May 19 (Reuters) - Leaders of the world's advanced democracies start their Group of Seven (G7) summit on Friday in Hiroshima with a sombre remembrance of the costs of war as they grapple with the conflict in Ukraine. Moscow has said it is ready to use its nuclear arsenal to defend its "territorial integrity" if necessary. As part of the efforts, each of the G7 members will be unveiling new sanctions, according to the U.S. official. G7 finance leaders warned in Japan last weekend of mounting economic uncertainty, in a subdued end to a meeting overshadowed in part by concerns about the U.S. debt stalemate. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy is expected to address the G7 leaders, though he may do so by video rather than in person.

☆ Chipmakers look to Japan as worries about China grow
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said he welcomed and expected more investment from global chipmakers, after meeting top executives on Thursday before a Group of Seven summit. Growing Taiwan and US tensions with China have brought serious challenges to the semiconductor industry. “I am very pleased with your positive attitude towards investment in Japan, and would like the government as a whole to work on further expanding direct investment in Japan and support the semiconductor industry,” Kishida said. Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida meets executives of major global chipmakers ahead of a G7 summit. In particular, Kumamoto prefecture in southwestern Japan is quickly becoming a hotbed for tech investment from companies including TSMC and Fujifilm Holdings Corp (FUJIF).

Japan takes center stage on Friday, with the April consumer price inflation report grabbing the data spotlight and the Group of Seven leaders summit in Hiroshima stealing the global political and economic limelight. The broad Topix index hit that milestone this week, and the Nikkei 225 index came within 0.5% of reaching it on Thursday. As Phil Suttle, a former World Bank economist, wrote on Thursday: "Japan is back!" G7 leaders begin a three-day summit in Hiroshima on Friday, with world market attention focused most on what they say about China. Here are three key developments that could provide more direction to markets on Friday:- Japan CPI inflation (April)- G7 leaders summit (Japan)- Fed Chair Jerome Powell speaksBy Jamie McGeever; editing by Deepa BabingtonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ South Korea's Yoon, Canada's Trudeau agree to boost cooperation on critical minerals
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau talks with South Korea’s President Yoon Suk Yeol during their meeting at the Presidential Office in Seoul, South Korea, May 17, 2023. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji/PoolSEOUL, May 17 (Reuters) - South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Canadian Prime Minister Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau agreed on Wednesday to step up cooperation on critical minerals and other economic security issues. In a joint statement issued after their summit in Seoul, the leaders also "strongly condemned" North Korea's nuclear and missile development, and agreed to continue joint efforts for a rules-based order in the region. Trudeau arrived in Seoul on Tuesday for the first visit in nine years by a Canadian leader as the two countries seek to boost cooperation on security and critical minerals used in electric vehicles (EVs). Reporting by Soo-hyang Choi Editing by Ed DaviesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

WASHINGTON/PARIS, May 17 (Reuters) - The longest shadows at the Group of Seven (G7) leaders' summit this week will be cast by two countries that weren't even invited to the Hiroshima gathering: China and Russia. The G7 countries -- the United States, Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Canada and Italy -- are all closely tied economically to China, the world's second-largest economy and a key global manufacturing base and market. "Everything is part of the great power competition that is taking place between the United States and Russia, and the United States and China." A woman walks past a “G7 Hiroshima” flower installation near the Peace Memorial Museum, ahead of the G7 summit, in Hiroshima, Japan, May 17, 2023. The United States is at the forefront in pushing for stronger investment controls, yet Germany is more cautious, given its heavy reliance on trade with Beijing.

The G7 countries -- the United States, Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Canada and Italy -- are all closely tied economically to China, the world's second-largest economy and a key global manufacturing base and market. "Everything is part of the great power competition that is taking place between the United States and Russia, and the United States and China." A woman walks past a “G7 Hiroshima” flower installation near the Peace Memorial Museum, ahead of the G7 summit, in Hiroshima, Japan, May 17, 2023. The G7 is looking to draw closer to members of the "Global South" to counter China's role on the global stage. The United States is at the forefront in pushing for stronger investment controls, yet Germany is more cautious, given its heavy reliance on trade with Beijing.

☆ Opinion: It’s no accident world leaders are revisiting this site of nuclear devastation
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Opinion Paul Sracic | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —It’s no accident that Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida selected Hiroshima as the site for the 2023 G7 meeting. Paul Sracic Arne HoelSince World War II, Hiroshima has served as a powerful symbol of the catastrophic consequences of nuclear weapons. Not surprisingly, 78 years later, many Japanese are still haunted by the horrors of nuclear war. The threat of nuclear weapons is one Kishida has both written and spoken about before. The proliferation of nuclear weapons to North Korea, not to mention the ongoing nuclear program in Iran, alongside the ongoing concern that Russia might use nuclear weapons in Ukraine serve as a reminder of the urgent need for global cooperation to mitigate the risk of nuclear war.

☆ China's security crackdown could signal new realities for foreign investors
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Clement Tan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Last Monday, state broadcaster CCTV singled out a consulting company for not complying with China's national security laws. "It may seem a paradox," said Chong Ja Ian, an associate professor at the National University of Singapore who studies Chinese foreign policy. So much of what is now regarded as national security or state secrets is not sufficiently defined or classified. This includes passing a data security law in 2021 on the protection of information involving national and economic security and on issues of important public interest. "To have multiple companies involved now in this crackdown and the restriction of financial data to foreigners, it appears that Chinese security departments are on to something larger."

☆ Ukrainian security agency says it suspects tycoon Firtash of embezzlement
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

KYIV, May 15 (Reuters) - Ukraine's state security agency has served businessman Dmytro Firtash and top managers of companies he controls with "notices of suspicion" of embezzlement, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said in a statement on Monday. A representative for Firtash, who is currently in Vienna, did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. "Effectively we are talking about the embezzlement of money from ordinary Ukrainians who paid their utility bills," the statement said. The European Union has also made tackling corruption a priority for Kyiv as it tries to join the wealthy bloc. Ukraine imposed sanctions on Firtash last June, accusing him of selling titanium products that Kyiv said ended up being used by Russian military enterprises.

☆ Exclusive: G7 summit statement to target China's 'economic coercion'
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-13 | by ( Trevor Hunnicutt | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The main G7 statement is set to include "a section specific to China" with a list of concerns that include "economic coercion and other behavior that we have seen specifically from the [People's Republic of China]," the official said on Friday. A separate "economic security statement will speak more to tools" used to counter coercive efforts from any countries responsible, including planning and coordination, the person said. The joint statement issued by all the G7 leaders every year is intended to signal that the powerful countries are aligned on a range of political and economic issues. CHINA TESTS G7 ALLIANCEThe G7 meeting will be a test of how much the members, all rich democracies, can agree on a common approach to China, the world's second largest economy. Traveling for the G7 finance meeting in Japan, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Thursday that China had clearly used economic coercion with Australia and Lithuania.

☆ Head of Russia's crime agency suggests nationalising key parts of economy
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

May 13 (Reuters) - The head of Russia's federal crime agency on Saturday suggested that key sectors of the economy should be returned to state ownership to support Moscow's war in Ukraine. "Let's go along the path of nationalising the main sectors of our economy." Russia's economy and government coffers rely heavily on production of oil, gas and metals. Gazprom (GAZP.MM), Russia's largest natural gas producer, is already controlled by the state. Its largest oil company, Rosneft (ROSN.MM), is not formally under government control but is headed by Igor Sechin, a long-standing ally of Putin.

☆ -China's steps to control its data and information
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Josh Ye | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Below is a timeline of main events in China’s effort to tighten its grip on data and information and especially over their export. July 2015: China passes a national security law that broadened the scope to protect its cyberspace and also emphasised a need to develop key technologies. June 2021: China passes a data security law on the protection of “important data” and “core data”, including information involving national and economic security, people’s welfare and on issues of important public interest. July 2022: China unveils cross-border data review measures that require a security review for “important” offshore data transfers. September 2022: Regulators ask China's biggest financial data provider Wind Information Co to stop providing offshore users with certain data, sources told Reuters.

☆ 4 of the world's elite investors agree on the biggest risks that will cause the next recession. Here's how they're each protecting clients with over half a trillion in combined assets.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( William Edwards | Akin Oyedele | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Below, we've their quotes on the subjects, along with how they said they're protecting their clients' money. I think it is a good chance, more than a little bit, that there will be a conflict, an invasion of Taiwan. Where to invest now: Roeper said he's bullish on aerospace companies because they're having a "pretty solid recovery" right now. The Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF (BND) offers exposure to different areas of the bond market. Where to invest now: Blake said he likes hybrid bonds, investment-grade bonds over a six-12 month duration, and private credit.

☆ US official says Chinese cloud companies like Huawei could pose threat
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, April 26 (Reuters) - U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said on Wednesday that Chinese cloud computing companies like Huawei Cloud and Alibaba Cloud (9988.HK) could pose a threat to U.S. security and vowed to review a request to add them to an export control list. A group of nine Republican senators on Tuesday urged the Biden administration to impose sanctions on Huawei Technologies Co's (HWT.UL) cloud unit, Alibaba Cloud and other Chinese cloud service providers. They want Raimondo to add the companies to the Entity List, which imposes U.S. export controls on foreign companies. Raimondo said the Chinese cloud companies could pose a threat. In May 2019, the Commerce Department added Huawei to the export control list over U.S. security concerns.

☆ Senate Republicans call on Biden administration to clamp down on cloud companies with ties to China
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Washington CNN —A group of Republican senators on Tuesday urged the Biden administration to “use all available tools” to sanction cloud computing firms with links to China. They also called for the Biden administration to investigate other cloud companies operated by Baidu and Tencent. The letter comes amid heightened tensions between the United States and China, and as scrutiny mounts in Washington of businesses with ties to China, including TikTok. The Biden administration has threatened TikTok with a nationwide ban unless its Chinese owners sell their stakes in the company. Some lawmakers have also called for the app to be banned, citing national security risks.

☆ Biden should sanction Huawei Cloud, other Chinese firms -senators
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON, April 25 (Reuters) - A group of nine Republican senators on Tuesday urged the Biden administration to impose sanctions on Huawei Cloud and other Chinese cloud service providers, citing national security concerns, according to a letter seen by Reuters. The senators said Huawei Cloud launched its "Sky Computing Constellation" in co-sponsorship with Changsha Tianyi Space Science and Technology Research Institute also known as "Spacety China" in 2021. Alibaba Cloud, a subsidiary of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (9988.HK), did not immediately comment. Reuters reported in January 2022 that the Biden administration was reviewing the cloud business of e-commerce giant Alibaba to determine whether it poses a risk to U.S. national security. The letter said the Biden administration should consider further investigation or actions against China’s other cloud service providers including Baidu Cloud and Tencent Cloud which may impact U.S. national security.

☆ Opinion | The Power of American Capitalism
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( David Brooks | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

The millennial and Gen Z generations are practically defined by a story of economic hardship. Many people believe that the coming generations will not enjoy the same living standards as their parents. “If anything, the reverse is true.”My point is not that American capitalism is perfect. For reasons deeply rooted in our culture, the American brand of capitalism has always been tilted toward dynamism, with freer markets and smaller welfare states. Between 1990 and 2019, American social spending rose from 14 percent of G.D.P.

☆ China seeking Dutch space technology -military intelligence agency
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

AMSTERDAM, April 19 (Reuters) - China is seeking to acquire equipment and knowledge in the Dutch space sector, sometimes in circumvention of export restrictions, the Netherlands' military intelligence agency said on Wednesday. China has long insisted that its space programme is for peaceful purposes and that it opposes any form of arms race in space. MIVD chief Jan Swillers said in the agency's report thatChina was specifically seeking "launchers with intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance (ISR) and communication satellites”. The MIVD's partner agency, the Dutch general intelligence agency AIVD, said on Monday that China posed "the greatest threat to Dutch economic security". In response, China's foreign ministry urged Western officials to abandon what it called a Cold War mentality and stop hyping up the “China threat” narrative.

Inside these boxes: Approximately $20 million worth of detained solar panels by U.S. Customs & Border Protection over suspected ties to forced labor. Shipments coming directly from China represented about $80 million worth of goods, while Malaysia accounted for $461 million and Vietnam accounted for $370 million. "UFLPA allows us to presume [goods] were produced with forced labor, and therefore they'd be excluded from the United States," said Fox. "The cotton commodity coming out of the Xinjiang region has typically been tied to forced labor," Fox told CNBC. The companies then had 30 days to come back to CBP and prove that the items were produced without forced labor.

☆ Montana Republicans are appealing to anti-California sentiment to pass a slew of bipartisan pro-housing policies
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( Eliza Relman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Montana Republicans are aligned behind zoning reform and other pro-housing policies. And everybody in Montana is asking this question of, you know, how can we keep Montana feeling like Montana?" Preventing a 'California-style housing crisis'Montana's ultra-conservative GOP governor, Greg Gianforte, recently called the housing crisis "probably the number one issue faced by working Montanans." Conservative supporters of pro-housing policies in the state have successfully tied anti-California sentiment to anti-sprawl and pro-housing policies. "The fear is that in 25 years, we're going to have a California-style housing crisis," Cotton said.

☆ Japan aims to treble sales of domestically made microchips by 2030
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

TOKYO, April 3 (Reuters) - Japan's industry ministry said on Monday it aimed to treble sales of semiconductors made in Japan to 15 trillion yen ($112.55 billion) by 2030 as Tokyo strives to boost domestic microchip production following global supply chain snarls. Japan sees microchips as strategic products to strengthen its economic security and is providing hefty subsidies to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (2330.TW) and others to build plants tin o Japan or have them expand existing facilities. The ministry plans to put the sales target in Japan's semiconductor and digital industry strategy, which will be updated by the middle of the year. Japan has seen its share in the global microchip market tumble from 50% in the late 1980s to around 10%, outperformed by nimbler rivals with deep pockets such as South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co Ltd (005930.KS). ($1 = 133.2700 yen)Reporting by Kiyoshi Takenaka, Editing by Louise HeavensOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Japan ruling party group eyes ban on TikTok, other apps -lawmaker
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

TOKYO, March 27 (Reuters) - A group of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) lawmakers plans to compile a proposal next month urging the government to ban social networking services such as TikTok if they are used for disinformation campaigns, an LDP lawmaker said on Monday. Many U.S. lawmakers are calling on the Biden administration to ban the popular Chinese-owned social media app, alleging the app could be used for data collection, content censorship and harm to children's mental health. "If it's verified that an app has been intentionally used by a certain party of a certain country for their influence operations with malice ..., promptly halting the service should be considered," Norihiro Nakayama told Reuters in an interview. Nakayama, a senior member of a ruling party lawmakers' group looking into ways to enhance Japan's economic security, said the group plans to compile the recommendation next month, adding that the proposal will not be targeting at any particular platform. Reporting by Kiyoshi Takenaka, Editing by Louise HeavensOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Japan, Germany agree to carefully monitor markets, coordinate as needed
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-18 | by ( Tetsushi Kajimoto | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

TOKYO, March 18 (Reuters) - Japan and Germany agreed on Saturday to coordinate closely on financial jitters stemming from problems among Western banks while carefully monitoring global markets and economy, a Japanese finance ministry official told Reuters. The agreement came in a 45-minute meeting between Japanese Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki and German Finance Minister Christian Lindner, visiting Tokyo for bilateral government consultations. We will carefully watch developments and coordinate with the central bank and overseas authorities," Suzuki told Lindner, according to the Japanese official. Both sides agreed on the need to closely monitor financial developments and coordinate as needed, the official said, without elaborating further. They agreed on the need to strengthen supply chains as an element of economic security.

Companies Morgan Stanley FollowMarch 15 (Reuters) - The top U.S. markets regulator on Wednesday proposed a suite of new policies designed to harden the financial system against hacking, data theft and systems failure. The three rule proposals together govern how broker-dealers address hacking incidents and protect consumer data, and how stock exchanges, transaction clearing houses and others deemed critical to national economic security gird themselves against system failure and cyber-intrusion. Broker-dealers, securities exchanges and others would also be required to maintain cybersecurity risk policies and notify the SEC "immediately" of "significant" incidents. Gensler, in prepared remarks, called the proposal "the first explicitly to address cybersecurity practices for the majority of these market entities." A similar proposal last year for investment firms called for confidential notice within 48 hours, drawing objections that this could hinder efforts to respond to hacking incidents quickly.

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