FirstFT: Jake Sullivan assures Beijing that Kamala Harris would ‘responsibly handle’ relations

Good morning. At present we’re masking:

• The conviction of two Hong Kong journalists below a colonial-era sedition regulation

• Singapore’s disillusioned center class

• Japan’s zombie start-ups

However we begin in Beijing, the place US nationwide safety adviser Jake Sullivan informed Chinese language leaders that Kamala Harris would “responsibly handle” relations between the 2 superpowers if she wins the presidential election in November.

The feedback from Sullivan, who met yesterday with President Xi Jinping, are supposed to reassure Chinese language policymakers that Harris wouldn’t take a extra hostile strategy to the connection than US President Joe Biden.

Beijing has turn out to be more and more involved about how a Harris administration would deal with the connection with China and who can be her closest advisers on the matter. Whereas Harris has briefly met the Chinese language president and his quantity two, Premier Li Qiang, little is understood of the element of her views on the nation.

In addition to assembly Xi, Sullivan additionally had a extremely uncommon assembly yesterday with Basic Zhang Youxia, one in all China’s strongest army officers. Joe Leahy has extra on the talks in Beijing.

Right here’s what else I’m holding tabs on as we speak and over the weekend:

• Financial knowledge: India publishes its newest development figures. Japan, South Korea and Thailand report their industrial manufacturing indices for July.

• Outcomes: China Development Financial institution and the Industrial & Business Financial institution of China report.

How properly did you retain up with the information this week? Take our quiz.

5 extra prime tales

1. A court docket in Hong Kong has convicted two journalists from a defunct pro-democracy information web site of sedition in a landmark trial that highlighted shrinking press freedoms within the Chinese language territory. Their conviction was the primary below the regulation towards journalists since Hong Kong was handed again to China from British administration in 1997.

2. Overseas traders are pulling cash out of India’s fairness market, slicing their publicity because the US rate of interest cycle turns and thousands and thousands of home savers proceed to pile into richly valued shares. Yr-to-date inflows stood at $2.6bn, properly under the $22bn recorded final yr.

3. Donald Trump’s working mate JD Vance has urged tech billionaire Peter Thiel to “get off the sidelines” and assist bankroll the Republicans’ White Home bid. Vance’s plea to Thiel got here in an interview with the FT, the place he additionally referred to as for the break-up of Google.

• Republican anxiousness: Donald Trump is dealing with doubts from Republicans about his plan to win again the White Home as they fret he shall be unable to recuperate the momentum misplaced to Kamala Harris in latest weeks.

4. Pakistani companies say web disruptions this month have harmed their companies and unsettled traders at a time when the nation is relying on the data know-how sector to assist break a cycle of financial crises and bailouts. Digital rights activists consider the disruption is owing to the federal government putting in “firewall” know-how to filter content material.

5. A Ukrainian F-16 fighter jet crashed on Monday throughout a mission to shoot down Russian missiles and drones in one of many largest aerial assaults mounted by Moscow since its full-scale invasion, Kyiv stated. The crash marked the primary lack of one in all Ukraine’s US-made F-16s since President Volodymyr Zelenskyy introduced their supply earlier this month.

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Information in-depth

Singapore’s Nationwide Day rally is historically a chance for the prime minister to stipulate home coverage plans. However Lawrence Wong’s tackle this yr sounded an uncharacteristically ominous tone, reflecting the federal government’s considerations about rising residing prices in Singapore. The elevated disillusionment of Singapore’s center class, below strain from excessive housing costs, threatens the delicate consensus that has underpinned the city-state’s development and stability for many years, analysts stated.

We’re additionally studying . . . 

Chart of the day

China’s use of the renminbi in cross-border transactions has reached report highs this yr, as nearer ties with Russia bolster Beijing’s efforts to internationalise its foreign money and minimize dependence on the US greenback. In July, 53 per cent of China’s inbound and outbound transactions used the Chinese language foreign money, up from about 40 per cent for a similar month in 2021.

Take a break from the information

A silent loner returns to his desolate hometown from jail within the haunting, hallucinatory Chinese language movie Black Canine. Set on eve of the Beijing Olympics, director Guan Hu’s movie is also learn as a commentary on China’s particular socio-economic situation in 2008 and since, writes Jonathan Romney.

Extra contributions from Harvey Nriapia and Tee Zhuo