A showdown in Bali

Indonesia’s Bali is nicknamed the “Island of Gods” for its vibrant beauty that lures tourists worldwide. Its charms will be on display to Vl [View in browser]( [Bloomberg]( Follow Us [Get the newsletter]( Indonesia’s Bali is nicknamed the “Island of Gods” for its vibrant beauty that lures tourists worldwide. Its charms will be on display to Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping in November, too. The Russian and Chinese leaders plan to attend the Group of 20 summit in Bali, Indonesian President Joko Widodo told Bloomberg News Editor-in-Chief [John Micklethwait]( in an interview yesterday, the first confirmation that Putin and Xi intend to show up at the meeting of the world’s largest economies. Key reading: - [Xi and Putin to Attend G-20 Summit in Indonesia, Jokowi Says]( - [The US-Led Drive to Isolate Russia and China Is Falling Short]( - [Ukraine’s Zelenskiy Says Indonesia Invited Him to G-20 Summit]( - [Boris Johnson Says He’d Be ‘Amazed’ If Putin Attends G-20 Summit]( - Follow our rolling coverage of the Russian invasion of Ukraine [here](. That presents major challenges for US President Joe Biden and other Group of Seven leaders. Xi hasn’t left China since the Covid-19 pandemic erupted. His presence in Bali would open up the prospect of a first face-to-face meeting with Biden as China and the US navigate surging tensions over Taiwan. The G-7 pushed to exclude Putin from the Bali summit. Indonesia resisted, arguing it must stay neutral as host nation, and instead invited Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy as a guest as well. If Zelenskiy comes, Putin risks a confrontation with a leader he’s refused to meet. Still, the Russian president’s readiness to go to Bali indicates confidence he won’t be an international pariah, underscoring divisions between the G-7 and states in the global south over isolating his country for the invasion. Biden and his allies will have to decide whether to sit in the same room as a man the US president has condemned as a “war criminal.” Neither Xi nor Putin attended last year’s G-20 in Italy. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in June he’d be “amazed” if the Kremlin leader came to Bali. Instead, Johnson’s the one who’ll miss the paradise island summit. It’s far from the first time Putin has confounded the expectations of his opponents. Putin and Xi in Beijing in February. Photographer: Alexei Druzhinin/AFP/Getty Images Click [here]( for this week’s most compelling political images and share this newsletter with others. They can sign up [here](. Global Headlines Weak spot | Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has put the geopolitical spotlight on Europe’s southeastern flank, a region that has long struggled to catch up economically with the continent’s richer west. As NATO races to [bolster]( its military posture along the Black Sea, the efforts are raising questions over why it wasn’t done before. - Russia is likely using the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine to shield its troops and equipment, [undermining]( the safety of operations at Europe’s biggest atomic-power station, according to European intelligence officials. Challenges ahead | Soon after Xi took power in 2012, he outlined his “Chinese Dream” for national rejuvenation. A decade later, he’s entering his most [challenging period]( yet for turning that vision into reality. With economic growth forecasts slashed, Covid-19 cases rising to a three-month high and the US pushing back over Taiwan — Xi has just a few months to ensure they don’t overshadow his greatest achievement yet: securing a precedent-breaking third term as leader at a Communist Party congress later this year. - China yesterday reported its [worst week]( of Covid infections since mid-May, spurred by outbreaks in vacation hotspots that risk spreading across the country as travelers return. Fueling unrest | While Putin’s war has sent Europe scrambling to secure enough fuel to keep its people warm in the coming winter, poorer nations [are struggling]( to ensure energy flows to their citizens already hit by surging inflation and food shortages. With gas prices more than 150% higher since the Russian invasion, and wealthier nations able to pay more to ensure adequate supplies, developing countries can’t compete. Best of Bloomberg Opinion - [Kenya’s Economy Can’t Afford a Political Crisis: Bobby Ghosh]( - [New Israeli-Palestinian Clash Shows Worse to Come: Hussein Ibish]( - [Putin Offers Russians a Potemkin Future: Clara Ferreira Marques]( Ally caves | The FBI search of former US President Donald Trump’s Florida residence and his taking the fifth in a deposition by New York’s attorney general ratcheted up pressure on the CFO of the Trump Organization to [plead guilty]( to tax fraud. [Patricia Hurtado]( and [Erik Larson]( report on the radical turn by Allen Weisselberg, who had fought the charges for more than a year before entering a guilty plea on 15 counts. - Portions of the FBI affidavit used to secure a search warrant for Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate should be [unsealed](, a federal judge in Florida said. Explainers you can use - [What’s Boosting Nuclear Power? War and Climate Change]( - [What Is the Circular Economy and Where Does It Lead?]( - [Why Oil-Rich Angola is Ripe for Political Change]( Fighting words | The influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un [rejected]( a disarmament-for-aid deal offered by South Korea’s president, calling it a “stupid” plan and dismissing the idea of engaging with Seoul. “We just don’t like Yoon Suk Yeol as a human being,” Kim Yo Jong said of the conservative leader in Seoul who took office in May and pledged to take a hard line toward Pyongyang. Bloomberg TV and Radio air Balance of Power with [David Westin]( weekdays from 12 to 1pm ET, with a second hour on Bloomberg Radio from 1 to 2pm ET. You can watch and listen on Bloomberg channels and online [here]( or check out prior episodes and guest clips [here](. News to Note - The UK’s opposition Labour Party demanded an [early recall]( of Parliament to tackle soaring household energy prices and stave off the worst effects of a cost-of-living crisis. - President Jair Bolsonaro managed to lift his [popularity]( slightly among potential voters after a multibillion-dollar blitz to stimulate the Brazilian economy ahead of general elections, according to a DataFolha poll. - Enoch Godongwana said he plans to continue exercising his duties as South Africa’s finance minister, after the police informed him that a [criminal complaint]( of sexual assault has been made against him. - London’s subway network largely ground to a [halt]( today as workers went on strike, bringing more labor disruption to Britain’s embattled transport system. - Widodo once again pushed for [changes]( to the Indonesian central bank’s charter to task monetary authorities with supporting job growth along with maintaining currency and price stability. Pop quiz (no cheating!) Which nation’s former prime minister rejected his narrow loss in his fifth attempt to become president and vowed to mount legal challenges against the vote result? Send your answers to balancepower@bloomberg.net. And finally ... Plastic pollution is a scourge in West African countries such as Ghana, once ranked as the world’s seventh messiest nation and now hailed as a success story because of a corporate-sponsored cleanup. But as [Kit Chellel]( and [Ekow Dontoh]( explain, the initiative backed by Coca-Cola, Unilever and Danone to re-use the waste is better at [deflecting blame]( and avoiding regulation than actually recycling. A gutter choked with plastic under a bridge in Accra, Ghana, in July. Photographer: Nipah Dennis/Bloomberg Like getting this newsletter? [Subscribe to Bloomberg.com]( for unlimited access to trusted, data-driven journalism and subscriber-only insights. You received this message because you are subscribed to Bloomberg's Balance of Power newsletter. 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