Geopolitics dominates today’s trade agenda, with leaders of Russia, China and India gathered at a summit this week to address shared challenges in trade, investment and defence.
Chinese president, Xi Jinping, is arguing in favour of the multilateral trading system, amid the threat of US counterpart Donald Trump’s tariffs, while Russia’s Vladimir Putin has been blaming the west for the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Back in the UK, there’s a new leader of the Green Party of England and Wales.
Shanghai group a new model for ‘true multilateralism’
Xi has told multiple fellow Eurasian leaders that they have a duty to “uphold the multilateral trading system with the World Trade Organization at its core”.
He was speaking at a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) yesterday, with Putin and Indian prime minister Narendra Modi also in attendance.
The Chinese leader called the SCO a new model of “true multilateralism”, the Guardian reports, and said that fellow member countries should “mega-scale markets” to boost trade and investment.
Fears of ‘bloc confrontation’
In what Politico describes as a thinly-veiled critique of Trump, Xi said the group should “oppose the Cold War mentality, bloc confrontation and bullying practices”.
The BBC also reports that Xi told Modi that China and India should be partners rather than rivals, with the latter saying that there is now an “peace and stability” between the countries.
As well as China, India and Russia, the SCO includes Belarus, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Palestine, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
Brazilian president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, is also scheduling a meeting of BRICS leaders to discuss their response to Trump’s tariffs, according to Bloomberg. The BRICS group includes Brazil, Russia, China and South Africa.
The BBC today reports claims from Trump that India has offered to cut its tariff rates on US goods “to nothing” in a bid to resolve risen trade tensions between the two countries.
Russia sanctions UK think-tank
At the SCO summit, Putin blamed the west for the ongoing war in Ukraine, saying the invasion was a response to “constant attempts to drag Ukraine into Nato”.
His government has also sanctioned the UK think-tank, the Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies (RUSI).
“According to the decision of the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office, the activities of the UK non-governmental organization RUSI are prohibited,” a statement from the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office said yesterday (1 September), reports Sputnik.
RUSI is not the only British firm to be banned by the Russian government, with the British Council also labelled “undesirable” in the country in June.
US responds to continued Ukraine bombing
In response to ongoing bombing by Russia of Ukraine, the US treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, told Fox News that “all options are on the table” in response to a question about potential further sanctions.
“President Putin, since the historic meeting in Anchorage, since the phone call, when the European leaders and president Zelensky were at the White House the following Monday, has done the opposite of following through on what he indicated he wanted to do,” he said.
“As a matter of fact, he has, in a despicable, despicable manner, increased the bombing campaign.
“So I think with president Trump, all options are on the table, and I think we’ll be examining those very closely this week.”
Back in the UK
Politicians returned to Westminster yesterday, after the summer recess.
Following the mini-reshuffle of both the PM and chancellor’s teams yesterday, both will be concerned by the news that UK borrowing costs have hit their highest levels since 1998. The pound has had its worst day in almost three months in response, the Guardian reports.
A more political threat for the government comes with the confirmation that so-called ‘eco-populist’, Zack Polanski, has won the English and Welsh Green Party leadership contest.
You can read a profile of the new leader, who will hope to win votes from disaffected left-wing Labour voters in the coming years, in the Guardian.
Also in the news today
- Gold prices have jumped to an all-time high today, according to the FT, in part due to concerns about the weakening value of the US dollar
- Surinder Arora, the billionaire owner of hotel firm Arora Group, is submitting a rival proposal for Heathrow’s expansion, the BBC reports
- And today is Sir Keir Starmer’s birthday – the Labour PM is turning 63 years old
Yesterday in trade
- MPs returned to work in Parliament, following the end of summer recess
- Starmer welcomed Darren Jones as his new chief secretary as part of a ‘mini reshuffle’ of his and the chancellor’s back office staff
- Global trade was trying to make sense of a decision by federal appeal courts in the US rule Trump’s tariffs as beyond his presidential remit
You can read more here.
