An awkward relationship

Xi Jinping is facing up to the awkward realities of navigating a “no limits” relationship with Vladimir Putin as Russia suffers key losses i [View in browser]( [Bloomberg]( Follow Us [Get the newsletter]( Xi Jinping is facing up to the awkward realities of navigating a “no limits” relationship with Vladimir Putin as Russia suffers key losses in its war with Ukraine. The Chinese leader is stepping out onto the world stage for the first time in nearly 1,000 days. He’s seeking to project a vision of an alternate global order that can challenge the US and its allies. Instead, all eyes are on his meeting with Putin and precisely what the Russian president will ask of China. Key reading: - [Xi Returns to World Stage With Putin to Counter US Dominance]( - [Russia Gives China’s Yuan a Boost as Firms Cope With Sanctions]( - [Xi, Putin Building ‘More Just’ World Order, Top China Envoy Says]( - [Chinese Manufacturers Get Around US Tariffs With Some Help From Mexico]( - Follow our rolling coverage of Russia’s war in Ukraine [here](. Xi kicked off the central Asia tour today with a state visit to Kazakhstan, where he launched his signature Belt-and-Road trade-and-infrastructure plan nine years ago. Next, he goes on to a Chinese-founded security forum in Uzbekistan where Xi and Putin will meet for the first time since Russia’s February invasion of Ukraine. Both stops will reinforce Xi’s vision of a world where China can expand its interests without fearing the threat of economic or military pressure from the US. It should be a comfortable return to international diplomacy with friendly nations, no intrusive media and few awkward questions, just a month before he’s expected to consolidate power at a historic Communist Party congress. But after months of Beijing’s careful balancing act — offering support for Russia and strengthening economic ties without triggering US and European sanctions — cozy relations between Xi and Putin now risk becoming a liability for Beijing. — [Rebecca Choong Wilkins]( Xi at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Aug. 30. Photographer: Li Xueren/Xinhua/Getty Images Click [here]( to sign up for our Equality Newsletter running tomorrow and share this newsletter with others. They can sign up [here](. Global Headlines Action on energy | European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen set out plans to raise 140 billion euros ($140 billion) as part of [radical]( steps to rein in the continent’s biggest energy crisis in decades. The European Union is also talking with Norway as part of efforts to cut gas prices and limit economic damage caused by lost Russian supplies, she said. - Von der Leyen pledged in her annual state of the union address to work to [guarantee]( “seamless” access for Ukraine to the EU’s massive single market to help its economy recover from the war. Strike threat | US railroads are poised to stop shipments of farm products and other key goods starting tomorrow as the industry braces for a possible [labor strike]( that could cost the world’s biggest economy more than $2 billion a day. President Joe Biden has become personally involved in trying to avert the action that Democrats believe may [hurt]( their chances in the November midterm elections. - Biden [ignored]( worse-than-expected US inflation data that roiled markets during a planned celebration yesterday for his signature climate-and-tax law. Russia’s energy revenues shrank in August to the lowest level in more than a year as international sanctions over Ukraine prompted the Kremlin to sell oil at [steep discounts]( in Asian markets and squeeze gas flows to Europe. Taiwan ties | US lawmakers will debate a bill today to [strengthen relations]( with Taiwan and give it more military hardware to deter a potential Chinese invasion. As American politicians jockey to show who’s toughest on Beijing, the proposed Taiwan Policy Act is making the White House nervous because it says America’s longstanding policy of “strategic ambiguity” is working. Best of Bloomberg Opinion - [What a Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day: John Authers]( - [The Midterms Are Now Even Harder to Predict: Jonathan Bernstein]( - [Poles Can’t Live With Germans, Can’t Live Without: Andreas Kluth]( Fighting continues | Azerbajian and Armenia reported [fresh border clashes]( today despite appeals from the US and France for them to respect a Russia-brokered cease-fire. Fighting between the Caucasus nations yesterday killed 99 soldiers, the worst death toll since a 2020 war. France said it would raise the crisis at the United Nations Security Council and Armenia appealed to a Russia-led defense bloc for help. Explainers you can use - [Chinese Manufacturers Skirt US Tariffs With Help From Mexico]( - [If La Nina Persists, Expect More Drought and Flooding]( - [An ABC on ESG and the Kinds of Backlash It’s Facing]( Long list | William Ruto inherits a [litany of problems]( after being sworn in as Kenya’s president, ranging from burgeoning debt to growing hunger in East Africa’s biggest economy caused by one of the worst droughts in decades. Kenya is among nations including Sri Lanka and Iran facing heightened risk of civil unrest as governments grapple with the aftershocks of the surge in inflation, according to consultancy Verisk Maplecroft. Tune in at 8am ET for our weekly global Twitter Space and a conversation with reporters about Xi’s first overseas trip for almost 1,000 days, his meeting with Putin and signs of shifting loyalties in Russia’s backyard. You can listen via [this link](, which will also be available afterward. News to Note - Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin arrived in London ahead of today’s procession through the UK capital to Westminster Hall, where she will [lie in state]( for four days until her funeral. - The Biden administration will announce an expanded $3.5 billion commitment for [pilot projects]( today that could cut carbon emissions from farming, tripling the funding levels announced earlier this year. - Troubling scenes from lockdowns in China’s far west Xinjiang region are fueling [rare signs of solidarity]( between oppressed Muslim Uyghurs and majority ethnic Han. - The US will put $3.5 billion in Afghanistan’s central bank [reserves]( under the control of a Swiss-based oversight board to pay for limited financial services in the country while ensuring the Taliban regime doesn’t get access to the money. And finally ... Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro’s decision to boost monthly stipends to about 18 million poor families is failing to improve his re-election chances. While he trails his main rival, former leader Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, by at least 11 percentage points nationally in the latest polls, those who receive the cash handouts are more than twice as [likely to vote]( for his leftist challenger, an Ipec survey showed. Residents line up to receive government aid in Juazeiro do Norte, Ceara state, on Feb. 14. Photographer: Jonne Roriz/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. [Unsubscribe]( | [Bloomberg.com]( | [Contact Us]( [Ads Powered By Liveintent]( | [Ad Choices]( Bloomberg L.P. 731 Lexington, New York, NY, 10022