Lloyd Austin, the US defence secretary, has spoken to China’s defence minister for the first time after Beijing rebuffed repeated requests for a call to be arranged with his proper counterpart, the top general in the Communist party politburo.
Austin spoke to General Wei Fenghe on Tuesday, the first top-level exchange between the two militaries since President Joe Biden entered office 15 months ago. Austin wrote on Twitter that the call was a “follow-up” to the call Biden held with Chinese president Xi Jinping last month.
Austin has made multiple requests to talk to General Xu Qiliang, vice-chair of the Central Military Commission, who the Pentagon says is his appropriate counterpart given that he is the most senior member of China’s defence establishment after Xi, who is also commander-in-chief.
A US defence official said China had rejected requests for Austin to speak to Xu. He confirmed Chinese reports that the US had requested the call with Wei, who China describes as his peer. The official said the US hoped the talks would help pave the way for a later call with Xu.
Thanks for reading FirstFT Asia Email me at firstft@ft.com. Here’s the rest of today’s news — Emily.
The latest from the war in Ukraine
Military supplies: A transfer of spare parts facilitated by the US and allied countries has given Ukraine access to an extra 20 warplanes.
Business: Almost 200,000 workers in Russia are still on western multinationals’ payrolls despite pledges to suspend activity in the country.
Sport: Wimbledon has banned players from Russia and Belarus from competing at this year’s tennis championships.
IMF update: The head of the IMF has said Ukraine will need $5bn a month for the next three months to plug the hole left by the impact of Russia’s invasion.
Russian economy: Russia built a domestic payment system after its banks were sanctioned following the invasion of Crimea in 2014. It is now reaping the rewards.
Five more stories in the news
1. Boris Johnson seeks to stop probe into his conduct The UK prime minister will seek to thwart an attempt by opposition MPs to open a House of Commons investigation into claims he misled parliament over the partygate scandal. Catch up on why the his comments about partygate matter.
2. UK and India seek trade deal Johnson will tiptoe around the highly sensitive issue of Ukraine when he arrives in India for a two-day visit today. The prime minister hopes to secure a trade deal with his counterpart Narendra Modi by the end of the year.
3. Shanghai allows millions to leave their homes Chinese health officials have allowed 4mn Shanghai residents in the financial hub to leave their homes after weeks of confinement, as the country’s rigorous lockdowns weigh on its growth prospects. Scientists are pushing China to find alternatives to its two homegrown Covid-19 vaccines.
4. Google and Meta curb Hong Kong leadership candidate The two US tech groups have restricted the social media presence of former Hong Kong security chief John Lee, who is running uncontested with Beijing’s backing for city leader next month, based on sanctions by Washington.
5. Netflix shares fall almost 40% Netflix lost close to 40 per cent of its market value, a decline of almost $60bn, after it revealed that its once-blistering subscriber growth had gone into reverse, raising questions about the future of the global streaming market.
More US business news: Tesla’s earnings were boosted by a jump in sales of regulatory credits in the latest quarter.
The day ahead
Relaxation of Hong Kong Covid measures Today’s change will allow residents to dine in restaurants until 10pm and permit sports fields, beauty parlours, cinemas and religious premises to reopen.
Boris Johnson in India The UK prime minister will kick off his official visit in Ahmedabad. Johnson is expected to announce a significant investment in key Indian industries. He’s also set to unveil a new collaboration on science, health and technology.
Register here to attend the FT’s first Crypto and Digital Assets Summit on April 26-27. Be sure to check out the full line up of events, including remarks from Changpeng Zhao, founder and chief executive of Binance.
What else we’re reading and listening to
Can the ministry that shaped Japan’s economy rediscover its influence? Japan’s Ministry for Economy, Trade and Industry, or Meti, built Japan’s economic “miracle” through the early 1970s. But the bust that followed reduced its power. Now the future of Toshiba is putting its reputation back on the line.
Investors wary of Australia’s green hydrogen hype A series of renewables ventures in Australia propose to use the country’s plentiful land and sunlight to transform it from one of the world’s top coal and gas exporters into a clean energy superpower. But the billions of dollars required to finance them have not materialised.
Can policymakers boost dwindling fertility rates? The South Korean government issues one-off pregnancy gifts of $1,700 — as a reward for helping the country address its dire demographic crunch. Such tactics are not unusual. Developed economies are offering increasing amounts in subsidies to encourage citizens to have more children. But there is little evidence that they are having an effect.
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What French voters like about Le Pen this time Marine Le Pen is on her third attempt to reach the pinnacle of power in France after unsuccessful campaigns in 2012 and 2017. Opinion polls show she has her best chance yet of becoming the country’s first woman president and of delivering a nationalist body blow to western liberal democracy akin to the UK’s vote to leave the EU or the election of Donald Trump in 2016.
Bumper bonuses are back — and particularly jarring The furore over the pay package of Stellantis chief executive Carlos Tavares, which was 300 times that of the average employee, shows that politicians are still working out how to handle corporate pay, writes Brooke Masters.
Work & Careers: In this weeks Working It newsletter we feature tips on how to level up at work. Click here to subscribe to the newsletter.
Thank you to readers who took yesterday’s poll — 60 per cent of respondents said they would invest their bonus money.
Travel
This summer, a French travel company plans to take tourists to the North Pole in a new type of icebreaking cruise ship. Jurriaan Teulings joined Le Commandant Charcot’s test run.
Source: Economy - ft.com
