Aurelia Butler

China’s foreign minister has condemned EU proposals to impose sanctions on Chinese companies for supporting Russia’s war machine, vowing to react “strictly and firmly” to defend its businesses.Qin Gang was speaking after meeting his German counterpart, Annalena Baerbock, in Berlin to prepare for the joint German-Chinese government consultations taking place next month.Eight Chinese businesses accused of selling equipment that could be used in weapons have been listed in a new package of sanctions, seen by the Financial Times, which will be discussed by EU member states this week. Brussels has until now avoided targeting China, arguing that there was as yet no evidence that it was providing weapons to Moscow. The punitive measures are just proposals, subject to the unanimous approval of the EU’s member states.Qin said China did not deliver any weapons into crisis regions and had laws regulating the export of dual-use goods.“There is a normal exchange and co-operation between Chinese and Russian companies . . . [this] must not be disrupted.“We are against states introducing extraterritorial or one-sided sanctions on China or any other country according to their own domestic laws. And if that were to happen we would react strictly and firmly. We will defend the legitimate interests of our country and our companies.”Two mainland Chinese companies on the EU’s list of firms to be placed under sanctions, 3HC Semiconductors and King-Pai Technology, are already on the US’s sanctions list. Two companies based in Hong Kong that are on the EU list are already on the US Treasury list: Sinno Electronics and Sigma Technology.King-Pai provides microelectronics to Russia that “have defence applications that include cruise missile guidance systems”, the US Treasury has said previously.

Baerbock declined to comment on the sanctions-hit companies. But she said it was “important” that the sanctions the EU has imposed on Russia “are not subverted in indirect ways. It’s particularly critical when Russian arms companies gain access to war-related products.” For that reason, she added, the EU was considering “pinpointed” measures to ensure that “sanctioned dual-use goods don’t end up in the wrong hands.”“That is not aimed against any specific country, but against these sanctioned goods. We expect from all countries, including China, that they exert influence on their companies with this in mind,” she said.Addressing China’s recent peace initiative for Ukraine, Qin said Beijing would remain in contact with all relevant countries and “play a constructive role” in resolving the conflict.He said that Chinese president Xi Jinping, in a recent phone conversation with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, had stressed that “dialogue and talks are the only way out of this crisis”.“As permanent member of the UN Security Council and a responsible country, we will continue to push for peace talks,” he said. “China will not pour oil on to the fire and will not try to derive its own benefit from this crisis.”

Video: Former PLA officer says China is restraining Russia over use of nuclear weapons More

LONDON (Reuters) – Hedge fund launches in 2023 are at their lowest level globally since 2017, data provider Preqin said, against a backdrop of banking upheaval and bouts of market volatility. So far this year, 180 funds have started or plan to start trading, Preqin told Reuters on Tuesday.Untried trend managers in particular have found capital raising tough given market turbulence which has forced many established macro and trend-following funds to cut positions from bad portfolio bets.Managed futures hedge funds using computer-led strategies to follow market trends and firms trading on macroeconomic signals have had three and eight launches respectively this year. There have been 36 launches of equity strategy funds, making them the most popular strategy, Preqin data showed. Meanwhile, credit has seen seven new funds launched and multi-strategy firms trading many different kinds of strategies together had six launches so far in 2023, with one further expected in the third quarter. Global mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity shrank to its lowest level in more than a decade in the first quarter, and only six new event driven hedge funds have started this year. “The strong public equity performance this quarter was encouraging for a strategy that correlates highly with public markets. Meanwhile, macro strategies fell out of favor just as quickly as they had come in,” Preqin said in its Hedge Funds Q1 2023 report, which was released earlier this month. More

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Joe Biden and top Republican lawmakers will declare their positions face to face on Tuesday on raising the $31.4 trillion U.S. debt ceiling, with an unprecedented default looming in three weeks if Congress does not act.Ahead of the 4 p.m. EDT (2000 GMT) Oval Office session, there were no signs that either side would immediately agree to any concessions that would head off a default as early as June 1.Economists warn that a lengthy default could send the U.S. economy into a deep recession with soaring unemployment while destabilizing the global financial system that’s built on U.S. bonds. Investors are bracing for impact. Graphic: World markets hunker down as US debt ceiling looms – https://www.reuters.com/graphics/USA-DEBT/xmpjkyowovr/graphic.jpg The Democratic president is calling on lawmakers to raise the federal government’s self-imposed borrowing limit without conditions. Republican House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy has said that his chamber will not approve any deal that does not cut spending to address a growing budget deficit.Past debt ceiling fights have typically ended with a hastily arranged agreement in the final hours of negotiations, thus avoiding a default. In 2011, the scramble prompted a downgrade of the country’s top-notch credit rating. Veterans of that battle warn that the current situation is even riskier because political divides have widened. Tuesday’s meeting was likely to be the start of an increasingly fraught period, with no certainty on the final outcome.White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters on Monday that Biden plans to say at the meeting: “It’s Congress’ constitutional duty to act, to prevent default. The president is going to be very clear about that.”McCarthy, whose party holds the House by only a slim majority, wants to tie a vote on the debt ceiling to broad spending cuts the White House considers draconian.”Pull back on some of the spending that you seem hell-bent to do and then we can negotiate,” Republican Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana told CNN on Monday. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the nation’s largest business association, on Tuesday urged a “swift” bipartisan agreement on the debt limit that would also include permitting reform and an agreement on discretionary spending caps.Biden would agree to a separate discussion on the budget but not tied to the debt ceiling, the White House said.His meeting with McCarthy will be their first since Feb. 1. They will be joined by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and top Senate Republican Mitch McConnell. Top House Democrat Hakeem Jeffries will also join the talks.The start of active talks could soothe the nerves of investors who last week forced the federal government to pay its highest interest ever for a one-month debt issue.Biden’s foreign travel plans and House and Senate recesses mean there are just seven days when all three parties are scheduled to be in town before June 1.Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Monday said a failure to raise the debt limit would cause a huge hit to the U.S. economy and weaken the dollar as the world’s reserve currency.Few countries in the world have debt ceiling laws and Washington’s periodic lifting of the borrowing limit merely allows it to pay for spending Congress has already authorized.White House officials have discussed whether Biden has the authority to lift the debt limit on his own by invoking the U.S. Constitution’s 14th amendment, but Biden told MSNBC last week that “I’ve not gotten there yet” on this argument.The 14th amendment says the validity of the public debt of the United States “shall not be questioned.” Invoking it would trigger a legal challenge. More