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Australian PM Talks Trade in China, Sidesteps Tensions With Xi

16/07/2025    115

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is keeping the focus of his trip to China on trade and business rather than tensions like Taiwan and Beijing’s military expansion.

What's happening now

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is keeping the focus of his trip to China on trade and business rather than tensions like Taiwan and Beijing’s military expansion. In a meeting with President Xi, he said Australia would handle the relationship in a “calm and consistent” way. Meanwhile, both sides agreed to boost cooperation while managing their differences carefully.

Rio Tinto Group named Simon Trott as its new chief executive officer. He currently runs the company's biggest and most profitable mines. It comes ahead of the miner’s quarterly update, which is scheduled for Wednesday morning.

Australia’s slow rollout of transmission infrastructure is stalling renewable energy projects and putting the country’s net zero ambitions at risk, according to a survey of investors managing a collective A$38 billion in renewable assets across the nation.

Geopolitical tensions and regional security concerns loom over the Australian prime minister's meeting with President Xi Jinping in Beijing. On Bloomberg TV's Australia Ahead Darren Lim of the Australian National University talks about how Anthony Albanese is keeping focus on his economic agenda, as China remains Australia’s biggest export market.

New Zealand farmers have attacked proposed rules for green finance, warning they are unworkable and risk harming rural communities by driving up costs.

The Reserve Bank of Australia wants merchants to remove surcharging on credit and debit card payments, in a move that could save consumers A$1.2 billion a year.

New Zealand’s aging population is likely to put downward pressure on the neutral level of the Official Cash Rate over time, according to Reserve Bank research.

What happened overnight

US stocks fell as relatively tame inflation data failed to ease Wall Street’s worries about the impacts of tariffs. Treasury bonds dropped amid bets the Federal Reserve will keep rates on hold for now. The dollar rose across the board, hitting Aussie and sending kiwi to a month-to-date low. Australia has some bonds to sell and there’s New Zealand data on how much of their bonds non-residents own. ASX futures point to a drop on the open of local stocks.

Donald Trump said he reached a deal with Indonesia that will see goods from the country face a 19% tariff, while US exports will not be taxed. It comes after the US president threatened tariffs of about 100% on Russia unless it reaches a peace deal with Ukraine, which could complicate ties with China and India.

Citigroup shares rose to the highest level since 2008 after the bank said it would ramp up stock buybacks following a strong result in regulatory stress tests. The company plans to repurchase at least $4 billion of shares this quarter.

House Republican leaders’ plans to pass three industry-backed crypto regulatory measures hit a bump Tuesday as GOP conservatives broke with President Trump on the legislation.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent suggested that Fed Chair Jerome Powell should step down from the central bank’s board when his term as chair is up in May 2026.

The White House has tapped a self-professed Hooters fan and an orthopedic surgeon for two key postings in Southeast Asia, a front line in the battle for influence between the US and China. The inexperienced candidates for Singapore and Malaysia are raising eyebrows in a region Washington is already alienating with its trade war, writes Bloomberg Opinion’s Karishma Vaswani.

One more thing...

Hong Kong’s Bar Leone, once again, has been crowned Asia’s best bar. In fact, the top three of Asia’s 50 Best Bars remained unchanged, with Seoul’s Zest and Singapore’s Jigger & Pony coming in second and third again.

Source: Bloomberg

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