China shrugs off the backlash

[Bloomberg]( Follow Us //link.mail.bloombergbusiness.com/click/21442991.45497/aHR0cHM6Ly90d2l0dGVyLmNvbS9icG9saXRpY3M/582c8673566a94262a8b49bdB0477b7cb [Get the newsletter]( If you thought that putting the squeeze on big Chinese [tech companies](, sanctioning officials and making life difficult for Chinese students and reporters abroad would bring Xi Jinping to heel, you only need to look at the footage today from Beijing’s Great Hall of the People. With his trademark half smile on display, the Chinese president, sans mask, waved and shook hands with people receiving medals for fighting the coronavirus. Full of pomp and protocol, the ceremony aimed to send a [bigger message](: China struggled with the disease but, deploying the power of the Chinese Communist Party machinery, it won. “The CCP’s strong leadership is the most reliable backbone when a storm hits,” Xi said as he spoke for more than an hour. “The pandemic once again proves the superiority of the socialist system with Chinese characteristics.” U.S. President Donald Trump has been sharply critical of Beijing’s actions during the pandemic. China’s reputation in many places has taken a hit. Countries are talking more about the need for “[economic decoupling](” from Beijing. Chinese companies have found offshore deals heavily scrutinized. But from the national security law imposed on Hong Kong to ongoing [border skirmishes]( with India to spats over trade [and media]( with Australia, China under Xi no longer seems to care what others think. And as the rest of the world slogs through the pandemic, China’s economy shows signs of coming out the other side. As much as they dislike it, other countries may yet [need Beijing]( to [help keep]( them afloat. — [Rosalind Mathieson]( Xi at a ceremony today to honor people working on the pandemic’s front lines. Photographer: Nicolas Asfouri/AFP via Getty Images Tell us how we’re doing or what we’re missing at balancepower@bloomberg.net. Global Headlines [War chest]( | Trump has discussed spending as much as $100 million of his own money on his re-election campaign, if necessary, to beat Democratic nominee Joe Biden, according to people familiar with the matter. The billionaire president personally contributed $66 million to his 2016 campaign, but it would be unprecedented for an incumbent to put his own money toward winning a second term. Campaign 2020 There are 56 days until the election. Here’s the latest on the [race for control]( of the White House and Congress. Trump [hinted the U.S. could approve]( a coronavirus vaccine in October, and Biden demanded transparency from the government as it studies the shots. [Read more]( on how the Food and Drug Administration is trying to insulate its vaccine reviewers from outside political pressure. [And click here]( for the first in a series of analyses of 12 closely contested states that will decide the election. Other developments: - [Harris Reaches Out to Black Voters in Battleground Wisconsin]( - [Biden Has 71.1% Chance of Winning Election: FiveThirtyEight]( Sign up to receive daily election updates as a direct mobile notification on Twitter. Simply [click on this link]( and like the tweet. [Brexit brinkmanship]( | “I will not back down,” Prime Minister Boris Johnson vowed in a new threat to walk away from Brexit talks without a trade deal. As [Tim Ross]( explains, there are plenty of reasons to believe him, despite the political dangers of a no-deal worsening the already severe economic damage the U.K. faces from the pandemic. It may not simply be a negotiating tactic. [Virus surge]( | Europe’s fears of a coronavirus resurgence are becoming a reality, with France hitting a new peak and infections rising in Germany and the U.K. after a summer of lax containment. Despite thousands more cases, the situation is very different than in March and April. Death rates are rising more slowly, and hospitals are still able to treat the sick, easing pressure on European leaders to take drastic action. [Belarus arrest]( | Belarus said it detained senior opposition figure Maria Kalesnikava at the Ukrainian border, a day after she and two colleagues were reported missing. Officials alleged the others fled the country, though Kyiv said they’d suffered “forced expulsion.” The Interfax news agency reported that Kalesnikava tore up her passport to avoid being deported. President Alexander Lukashenko has cracked down on opponents amid huge protests since he claimed to have won re-election last month. Kalesnikava addresses workers on strike on Aug. 17 in the capital, Minsk. Photographer: Misha Friedman/Getty Images Europe [Next pandemic]( | As Covid-19 widens inequalities and worsens food poverty, some people are eating more, but in many ways, it’s less. In the U.K. alone, roughly 20 million adults aren’t able to afford healthy foods. As [Agnieszka de Sousa]( reports, if the global rise of unhealthy eating and obesity isn’t tackled, related health costs will exceed $1.3 trillion a year in the next decade, according to the United Nations. What to Watch - India and China [accused each other]( of firing warning shots along their disputed Himalayan border for the first time in more than four decades, days after top officials agreed to defuse tensions. - Poland is trying to [step up pressure]( on neighboring Germany to halt the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline following the poisoning of Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said in an interview. - The EU made top economic policy maker Valdis Dombrovskis its [ trade chief](, highlighting the bloc’s determination to scale back transatlantic tariff wars, curb market-distorting Chinese practices and uphold the global commercial order amid rising protectionism. - The Senate [returns to Washington]( today with the Trump administration and Democrats [no closer]( to agreement on a new virus relief package than they were when talks broke off in early August. [And finally]( ... India is facing a human and economic catastrophe as its virus outbreak surges at the fastest pace in the world, risking untold numbers of deaths and the reversal of years of rising incomes and living standards that helped lift millions out of poverty. As [Ari Altstedter](, [Dhwani Pandya]( and [Anurag Kotoky]( report, it’s a scenario likely to play out elsewhere as the pandemic’s epicenter shifts to poorer nations, creating a drag on the developed world’s ultimate recovery. A woman sleeps outside a closed fever clinic at a village council office in Boisar, India, on Sept. 6. Photographer: Dhiraj Singh/Bloomberg   Like Balance of Power? | [Get unlimited access to Bloomberg.com](, where you'll find trusted, data-based journalism in 120 countries around the world and expert analysis from exclusive daily newsletters.  You received this message because you are subscribed to Bloomberg's Balance of Power newsletter. 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