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alliance about the specific nature of this collaboration as they grapple with how to navigate their relationship with China. Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno confirmed that Kishida intends to emphasize the importance of stronger relations between Japan and NATO, despite objections from Beijing regarding the alliance's activities in the region. Alongside Kishida, leaders from South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand will also be present at the summit in Vilnius.

Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang's prolonged absence from public view for 12 days has raised concerns and speculation about his well-being. Qin was scheduled to meet with the European Union's top diplomat, Josep Borrell, this month, but China unexpectedly postponed the meeting without providing further information. There have been rumors in Brussels that Qin's absence might be due to health issues, but Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin stated that he had not heard about such reports during a press briefing in Beijing. The official website of the Chinese Foreign Ministry indicates that Qin's last official engagement was on June 25, where he met officials from Sri Lanka, Russia, and Vietnam. On the same day, he also participated in an event alongside Chinese Premier Li Qiang and Barbados Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley. Additionally, a lunch meeting between Qin and ambassadors from the European Union in late June was abruptly canceled, according to an ambassador based in Beijing who was on the invite list.

Dalai Lama on Saturday expressed willingness to talk to Beijing, making it clear that he is not seeking Tibet's independence from China. «China is changing and has now realised that the Tibetan people are very strong and in order to deal with the Tibetan problem, they want to have contact with me and I am also ready,» he told media persons at the Kangra airport before leaving for Delhi.

SINGAPORE—China’s decision this week to restrict the export of two minerals used in semiconductors, solar panels and missile systems was more than a trade salvo. It was a reminder of its dominant hold over the world’s mineral resources—and a warning of its willingness to use them in its escalating rivalry with the U.S. Around two-thirds of the world’s lithium and cobalt—essential for electric cars—is processed in China.

NATO was created to deter Soviet tanks and missiles in Europe. Now it is also in the business of deterring China’s global ambitions, spurring concern among some members about mission creep and accusations by Beijing of inciting confrontation.

Ant Group Co. is proposing to buy back as much as 7.6% of shares in an effort to retain talent and offer an exit for investors ensnared by a years-long regulatory crackdown at the company. Ant’s planned repurchase of the equity would value the company at about 567.1 billion yuan ($78.5 billion), it said in a statement on Saturday.

1/ UNDER PRESSURE Markets have come around fast to the Fed's view that instead of being cut anytime soon, rates will remain high for longer. After another brutal bond sell off, focus turns to Wednesday's U.S. inflation data.

Janet Yellen holds meeting in China

Goldman Sachs Group research after the securities firm's analysts recommended selling shares of local banks, the latest sign of official attempts to counter negative sentiment in markets as the economy slows. The market shouldn't take a bearish view on Chinese banks based on pessimistic assumptions, and negative premises are misinterpretations of the facts, according to a Securities Times report Friday, referring to a Tuesday research note from Goldman. Banks have been actively lowering their exposure to property loan risks, while local governments have stepped up efforts to ease debt risks, the Securities Times said.

By Bansari Mayur Kamdar and Johann M Cherian

Investing.com — U.S. stocks were mixed after Friday’s jobs report failed to calm fears about interest rates.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has appealed to China’s No. 2 leader not to let frustration over U.S. curbs on access to processor chips and other technology disrupt economic cooperation during a visit aimed at improving strained relations

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is visiting Beijing as part of efforts to revive U.S.-Chinese relations that are at their lowest level in decades due to disputes over technology, security and other irritants

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said competition between the world’s biggest economies is not a “winner-take-all” situation, and called for both sides to manage their rivalry with a fair set of rules.

Ant Group as soon as Friday, sources with direct knowledge of the matter said, bringing an end to the fintech company's years-long regulatory overhaul. The People's Bank of China (PBOC), which has been driving the revamp at Ant after its $37 billion IPO was scuttled in late 2020, is expected to disclose the fine in the coming days, the sources told Reuters. The penalty, which would be one of the largest ever fines for an internet company in the country, will help pave the way for the fintech firm to secure a financial holding company license, seek growth, and eventually, revive its plans for a stock market debut.

Janet Yellen tries to steady an increasingly tense relationship with China, the world's two largest economies remain tightly linked, but are showing some signs of future weakness. Yellen starts meetings on Friday with senior Chinese officials pledging to seek «healthy competition» with China as confrontation between the economic powers over U.S. technology export controls and planned outbound investment restrictions dominate headlines.

semiconductors and solar panels. The US official was due to meet Friday with China's No.

Nato summit to be held in Lithuania’s capital Vilnius as South Korea, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand are planning to meet on the sidelines of the summit to discuss how to respond to Beijing’s aggressive attempts to change the status quo in the South and East China Seas. All eyes are set on the July 11-12 summit as for the first time all leaders of Nato's four Asia-Pacific partners—Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand—will be attending. The four, collectively known as AP4, are currently tagged as ‘partners across the globe’ by Nato. The North Atlantic alliance will “formulate an individually tailored partnership programme (ITPP) with all four countries in order to upgrade its partnership with them to a higher level,” according to Tokyo-based Nikkei Asia. To support its move for South and East China Seas, Beijing is reportedly engaged in power projection, military build-up and hybrid and cyber operations. To counter China’s aggression in the region, Nato wants to strengthen its engagement with its Asia-Pacific partners step by step. After the ITPPs are finalised, Nato will open a liaison office in Japan in 2024. Nato will use the liaison office as a hub for cooperation with South Korea, Japan, Australia and New Zealand. China, which is closely watching Nato’s activity in the Indo-Pacific region, recently warned that South Korea will not gain anything by participating in a summit that shows hostility towards Beijing.

Soaring daily temperatures, wildfires in Canada, inexplicably hot ocean currents—our worries around climate change have intensified. There is another fear out there this year, though mixed with frenzied excitement: the worry of whether we have created a Frankenstein’s monster in the quest for artificial intelligence (AI). My fears, however, are not as much about an AI agent becoming more intelligent than us, as two things more fundamental and immediate.

Investing.com — U.S. stocks were falling as investors awaited Friday’s jobs report for June after an unexpectedly strong private payrolls report.

Investing.com — U.S. futures traded lower, ahead of the release of key labor market data, which could influence Federal Reserve thinking in the run-up to July's policy-setting meeting.