When Biden met Putin, Iran picks a hardliner: Weekend Reads

[Bloomberg]( Follow Us [Get the newsletter]( U.S. President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin held their first meeting as leaders, speaking for around three hours on Wednesday in Geneva. Short on [tangibles](, the summit nonetheless laid out some markers for future ties, with both Biden and Putin calling the conversation a productive start. Their meeting followed a series of multilateral summits for Biden on his maiden overseas trip as president. But even as he sought to create a united approach to tackling a more assertive China, allies including Germany pushed back on being grouped into an anti-China bloc. The four years of Donald Trump’s turbulent leadership are still fresh, in turn, and some nations [don’t]( want the U.S. under Biden to dominate decision making and agenda setting on global issues. Meantime the outcome of Iran’s presidential election Friday will see all of its state institutions and levers of power now [controlled]( by hardliners. Dig deeper into these and other topics with this edition of Weekend Reads. — [Rosalind Mathieson]( Biden prepares to shake hands with Putin prior to their summit. Photographer: Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images Click [here]( for this week’s most compelling political images and tell us how we’re doing or what we’re missing at balancepower@bloomberg.net. Sponsored Content [Southern California Edison]( is leading the charge for clean, more renewable energy. We’re a national leader in solar delivery. We’re striving to cut emissions from buildings and freeways. And we proudly support the fastest growing green jobs in the nation. Southern California Edison Putin’s Covid-19 Boasts Sour Amid Explosive Rise in Infections Putin told business leaders at his flagship economic forum this month that Russia is coping better than many other countries with Covid-19. But as [Henry Meyer]( notes, events increasingly are [contradicting]( him. - The Biden-Putin summit left two things clear, [Alyza Sebenius]( writes: Russia is almost sure to test Biden’s resolve to prevent cyberattacks, and the U.S. president may find his red line [difficult]( to enforce. Key Climate Talks Are Headed for Trouble After G-7 Wrangling Global leaders say they want decisive action on tackling climate change at a [crunch]( UN meeting this year. But, as [Tim Ross](, [Alberto Nardelli]( and [Jess Shankleman]( report, the behind-the-scenes arguing at the recent Group of Seven summit — where progress was blocked by last-minute nerves, political tensions and a funding shortfall — shows how far they have to go. Demonstrators with masks depicting G-7 leaders at an Extinction Rebellion demonstration on the sidelines of the summit in Falmouth, U.K. Photographer: Hollie Adams/Bloomberg Xi Taps Top Deputy to Lead China’s Chip Battle Against U.S. Chinese President Xi Jinping is pushing toward his goal of self-sufficiency on technology with an initiative aimed at helping domestic chipmakers overcome U.S. sanctions. [Shiyin Chen]( and [Gao Yuan]( report exclusively on the latest [task]( assigned to Liu He, Xi’s economic czar. A Far-Flung Taiwan Island Risks Triggering a U.S.-China Clash Chinese warplanes carrying out frequent [incursions]( around Taiwan have settled into a flight pattern that is generating alarm among U.S. and Taiwanese military planners. [Kari Lindberg]( and [Cindy Wang]( explain the role of tiny Pratas Island in the growing tensions between Taipei and Beijing. His Economy in Ruins, Venezuela's Maduro Pleads for Biden Deal President Nicolas Maduro projected unflappable confidence in an interview with Bloomberg Television’s [Erik Schatzker](, saying Venezuela has broken free of “irrational, extremist, cruel” U.S. oppression. But in between his denunciations of Yankee imperialism, Maduro is also making a public [plea]( to Biden. - [Read how]( Maduro’s grip has forced the opposition to lower its sights. - You can read the full transcript of the interview [here](. Maduro during the interview in Caracas on June 14. Photographer: Gaby Oraa/Bloomberg Cleric to Take the Reins in Iran, Pushing Moderates Aside Ultraconservative Ebrahim Raisi won Iran’s presidential election, an outcome that potentially complicates efforts by world powers to restore the 2015 nuclear accord. Read more about the former judiciary chief who is hostile to the West in [this story]( by [Golnar Motevalli](. Biden used his overseas meetings to seek a united front against the country he’s called America’s most serious global [competitor](: China. The world’s second-largest economy was on the agenda during Biden’s meetings with the G-7, NATO, European Union and even Putin — whose country, he remarked, is “getting squeezed by China.” U.K. Is Test Case for Covid Endgame as Variant Upends the Math Prime Minister Boris Johnson [warned]( Britons at the start of the pandemic that “many more families are going to lose loved ones before their time.” As [Emily Ashton]( and [Marc Daniel Davies]( explain, next month’s planned lifting of Covid-19 restrictions will require him to level with the public again. - The road to the Olympics has been long, uncertain and arduous. [Lisa Du]( writes that the Tokyo Games promise to be the [weirdest]( ever for isolated athletes. - Covid cases are hitting zero in U.S. hospitals once [overrun]( by victims Race for Global Tax Revolution Faces Hurdles in Last Stretch The world’s richest nations have set the stage for a [revolution]( in corporate taxation, but they still have their work cut out to achieve their overhaul. [Isabel Gottlieb]( and [William Horobin]( outline the multiple technical details that are unresolved.  The theft of commodities like lumber, metals, and food crops is nothing new. Yet the combination of soaring prices, the pandemic, and the hit to economies has created an unusually [fertile]( ground for criminals. Once-Thriving Economy Tested as Ethiopia’s Abiy Cracks Down Three years after heralding an end to [authoritarian]( rule and plans to open up Ethiopia’s economy to foreign businesses, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed is alienating allies and frightening off investors. [Samuel Gebre](, [Alonso Soto]( and [Selcuk Gokoluk]( lay out the challenges with Abiy expected to win parliamentary elections on June 21. China’s Worse-Than-Suez Ship Delays Set to Widen Trade Chaos The global shipping industry, already exhausted by pandemic shocks that are adding to inflation pressures and delivery delays, faces the biggest test of its stamina yet. A partial [shutdown]( at one of China’s busiest ports has further snarled trade routes and lifted record freight prices even higher. Old AMLO Ally Faces Fight to Empower Mexico Finance Ministry Mexico’s new finance chief has spent decades at Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador’s side. As [Max de Haldevang]( and [Nacha Cattan]( explain, that will come in handy as he takes on his biggest [challenge](: shaping economic policy in an administration tightly run by the nationalist president. Nigeria’s Cratering Economy May Become Africa’s Biggest Threat Policy missteps, entrenched corruption and an over-reliance on crude oil mean a country that makes up a quarter of Africa’s economy risks becoming its biggest problem. [Alonso Soto]( reports that ethnic tension, youth [discontent]( and criminality is adding to the mix. And finally…China doesn’t have anywhere near the global fashion cachet as Italy, France or Japan, and one of the most downloaded shopping apps in the U.S. divulges almost nothing to customers about its origins. Anyone interested in learning about Shein — where it sources materials, how one might get a job there, or even where “there” is — hits one [dead end]( after another on its slick app. But the company owes its success to China — in particular a trade-war era change to China’s tax code that slashes costs for the company and its suppliers. Katy Perry performs during the Shein Together Virtual Festival in May 2020. Source: Getty Images  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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