FirstFT: Biden warns Xi about Ukraine

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Joe Biden will warn Xi Jinping that the United States is ready to respond if Beijing actively supports Russia in Ukraine, in the first call between the two leaders since Vladimir Putin ordered an invasion of his neighboring country.

The Biden administration has become increasingly concerned about China’s potential willingness to aid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which is now in its fourth week.

The Financial Times reported this week that Moscow has ordered several classes of weapons, including drones, from Beijing.

China publicly claims to take a neutral stance on the war and avoids calling it an “invasion,” referring instead to the Ukraine “issue” or “crisis.” Beijing also opposed the sanctions and blamed NATO and the European Union for putting pressure on Putin before the war.

In Ukraine, Russian missiles fell on Friday on the outskirts of the western city of Lviv, according to local authorities, near the border with NATO member Poland. The attack indicated Moscow’s readiness to expand its bombing to include residential areas far from the heavy bombardment of cities such as Kharkiv and Mariupol in eastern and southern Ukraine.

Financial Times correspondent Dimitri Sevastopoulo and Greater China correspondent Catherine Hill discussed China’s stance on the war on Twitter Spaces yesterday.

Other news about the war in Ukraine:

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken poured cold water yesterday hoping for a diplomatic settlement of the war in Ukraine and vowed to investigate “war crimes” by the Russian military.

BNY Mellon, the US custodian bank, says it expects to generate $100 million in revenue in the first three months of this year after its decision to withdraw from Russia. Western banks have limited ways out of Russia: sell, terminate the business, or pass the business on to the state.

Russian oil exports to India quadrupled this month in a sign of a vast reshaping of global energy flows since the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Russian missiles destroyed the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, but according to Tim Judah’s report, they are adapting to the conditions of war. Today’s military briefing explains why Ukraine needs air defense rather than a no-fly zone. Our visual storytelling team depicted how Putin’s invasion collapsed in the face of fierce Ukrainian resistance.

The Kremlin’s propaganda campaign tests the loyalty of Russian citizens. Separately, Wikipedia has become a battleground between Russian and Ukrainian editors.

Follow our live blog and updated maps for the latest information on the conflict. Thanks for reading FirstFT Americas. Send your feedback on this newsletter to [email protected]. Here’s the rest of the day’s news – Gordon

Five more stories in the news

1. China sails an aircraft carrier through the Taiwan Strait China sailed an aircraft carrier through the sensitive Taiwan Strait earlier today, just hours before Biden called Xi. Last month’s incursion of Chinese fighter jets into Taiwan’s airspace and the war in Ukraine have led to questions about Taiwan’s military readiness.

2. Meta sued Meta in Australia for “misleading” crypto ads, with the Australian Competition Regulatory Authority taking Meta to court for allegedly allowing misleading crypto ads to appear on Facebook.

3. White House czar Jeff Zentz, who led the Biden administration’s response to Covid-19, is stepping down. He will be replaced by Dr Ashish Jha, dean of Brown University’s School of Public Health, who has become one of the most well-known faces of the pandemic in the United States.

4. Amazon seals $8.45 billion deal to acquire MGM movie studio The e-commerce giant has completed its biggest media deal to date after US and European regulators refused to block the move. The acquisition comes as Amazon refocuses efforts to attract and retain new members to its $119-a-year Prime membership scheme.

5. The UK paid a “blood money” to secure the release of Iranian detainees, Britain was accused of paying a “blood money” to secure the release of British and Iranian dual nationals from Tehran by former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. But the release of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Anousha Ashouri is a positive sign for an Iran nuclear deal, the Financial Times reported in an editorial.

next day

Quad Magic Day is the day stock index futures, stock index options, stock options and single stock futures expire, creating a flood of trading volume and arbitrage opportunities. (FT, Investopedia)

Economic data The National Association of Realtors is expected to report that existing home sales fell to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.1 million units in February, compared to 6.5 million in the previous month. The Conference Board is expected to report a 0.3 percent increase in its leading economic indicator for February, after a 0.3 percent decline in January.

Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago President Charles Evans speaks at an event in downtown West two days after the US central bank raised interest rates for the first time since the outbreak of the pandemic. Separately, Richmond President Thomas Barkin speaks at an event called “Containing Inflation” in Baltimore.

Chelsea Football Club Bid Deadline American billionaires, sports tycoons and property developers interested in buying the Premier League football club must submit their bids today. The deal came after Roman Abramovich, who has owned the club since 2003, was sanctioned.

What else are we reading

The war of Putin’s imagination, award-winning Russian writer Maria Stepanova, reflects on how fear as well as dictatorship led to her homeland’s disastrous invasion of Ukraine. She writes: “What we live can be called the death of the conceivable.”

Hong Kong’s wealthy are racing to get their yachts and cars out of the city. Fears of ever harsher Covid-19 restrictions are prompting wealthy Hong Kong residents, many of them expats, to sell their luxury yachts and cars or move them out of the city. Fifty-three cars were shipped by just one company from Hong Kong to the UK last month, a broker told the Financial Times.

Business finally cooperates on cybersecurity A decade ago, the Obama administration tried to force American companies to cooperate on cyber defense. It did not go well. But previously taboo concepts such as industrial strategy are back in vogue as Western companies fear a Russian attack.

A battery-powered symphony of electric cars In its most basic form, electric cars are silent. Hans Zimmer wants to change that. The Oscar-winning composer turns from the silver screen to the open road to answer the question: What should an electric car look like?

Asia Pacific’s Fastest Growing Companies The fourth annual ranking of Asia Pacific’s high-growth companies is our most competitive to date. E-commerce from the Philippines tops the list, while Japan is home to the growth champions.

Travel

Traveling through the frozen wilds of Swedish Lapland in a hot air balloon? A travel company from Masai Mara is looking to do just that.

A hot air balloon hangs over snow-capped pine trees in Lassbyn in Swedish Lapland © Fredrik Broman

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