Xi cements his hold on China, big US bank fails: Weekend Reads

We look at the ever-increasing power of Xi Jinping in China, and a major US bank failure. [View in browser]( [Bloomberg]( President Xi Jinping completed his shake-up of [China’s top personnel]( this week, with the legislature voting to install a key ally and former aide as premier. The appointments at the annual political event come as Xi — who secured a third term as president on Friday — [cements his power]( to better position China to compete with the US. Rishi Sunak struck a multi-year deal with Emmanuel Macron to curb cross-Channel immigration in small boats, as the two former investment bankers sought to turn the page on years of [Anglo-French acrimony](. SVB Financial Group collapsed into receivership on Friday, following a [frenetic 44 hours]( in which its long-established customer base of tech startups yanked deposits. It marks the second-largest US bank failure in history behind Washington Mutual in 2008. Delve into these and more of our best stories in this edition of Weekend Reads. — [Rosalind Mathieson]( An SVB chart on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on Friday. Photographer: Michael Nagle/Bloomberg [Click here]( for this week’s most compelling political images. And if you are enjoying this newsletter, [sign up here](. Listen to our politics Twitter Space discussion from this week about the economic and political turmoil hitting emerging market nations [via this link](. Xi’s Frustration at Biden Grows With Warning of Conflict Back in November, before the latest downward spiral in US-China ties, Xi cast himself as a statesman in a meeting with President Joe Biden. This week, as top Chinese officials gathered for the National People’s Congress, Xi [stopped playing nice](, reflecting mounting frustration in Beijing after an alleged spy balloon obliterated any goodwill. - Lawmakers unanimously voted to give Xi a third term, [completing his ascension]( to supreme leader of the world’s No. 2 economy. Xi’s casual chats with his top lieutenants at the NPC point to the [strong chemistry]( among the new team. - China set a modest economic growth target for the year, with leaders avoiding any large stimulus and suggesting [less of a growth boost]( to an ailing world economy. A broadcast of Xi during the opening session of the NPC on March 5. Photographer: Qilai Shen/Bloomberg $52 Billion Plan to Make Chips in the US Faces a Labor Shortage America’s biggest foray into industrial policy since World War II faces one [big hurdle]( that hasn’t gotten much attention. Historically, the US has thrived because it’s had ample pools of labor — for reasons good (immigration) and bad (slavery). But, as [Shawn Donnan]( writes, demographics are conspiring against economic ambitions. Russian Cyberwar in Ukraine Stumbles Just Like Conventional One Even before Russia invaded Ukraine, its hacking offensive was under way. But what began with a bang stalled into something less substantial — [nothing near the full-blown cyber-hostilities]( many predicted. Sources tell [William Turton]( and [Andrew Martin]( a primary reason is that Ukraine was ready for it – and had help from technology companies based in the US and elsewhere to bolster its cyber defenses. - The Kremlin is opening up Vladimir Putin’s [schedule around the G-20]( summit in India in September to make it possible for the Russian president to take part after skipping the last two gatherings, sources say. - The UK government suspects Russian nationals have exploited lax checks by the companies register in attempts to [launder assets stolen]( from Ukraine, sources say. Ukraine has been fighting to keep control of the [besieged eastern city of Bakhmut]( for months as Russian troops level the area. [Aliaksandr Kudrytski]( explains why the city has become so important for troops from both sides. Georgia Drops ‘Foreign Agent’ Law After Violent Clashes The ruling party abandoned a draft law targeting “foreign agents” after [violent clashes]( between police and protesters in the capital, Tbilisi. [Helena Bedwell]( explains the legislation had been bluntly criticized by the European Union and the US, which compared it to one used by Putin to crush dissent in Russia. - [Here’s our slideshow of the big moments in the Georgia protests](. Photo Credit: AFP/Getty Images UK Tories Fear Sunak’s Immigration Gamble May Fail to Pay Off Sunak’s plan to tackle [illegal migration]( may be an unworkable gamble, members of his government say. At stake for the ruling Conservatives are their prospects in a general election Sunak must call in less than two years, with his party trailing Labour by more than 20 points in the polls. Best of Bloomberg Opinion this week - [London Has Become a Better City — for the Rich: Therese Raphael]( - [Trump Could Lose Primary But Win Nomination: Jonathan Bernstein]( - [What More Can Xi Jinping Do For China Inc.? Anjani Trivedi]( - [Hong Kong’s New Normal Isn’t Fooling Anyone: Matthew Brooker]( - [A Little Inflation Can Be Good for Conservatives: Tyler Cowen]( Mysterious $3 Million Jewelry From Saudi Arabia Haunts Bolsonaro A dispute over $3 million worth of jewelry allegedly from Saudi Arabia will present [another headache]( for ex-Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro when he returns home from his US vacation. [Simone Preissler Iglesias]( reports that Brazil’s national comptroller has started probing the case over the cache that includes a diamond necklace, earrings and a watch made by the Swiss brand Chopard. The number of high-containment labs around the world conducting [potentially risky scientific research]( is surging, despite a lack of global agreement on how to make sure they’re safe. There are 69 Biosafety Level 4, or BSL-4, facilities designed to study dangerous infectious pathogens in operation, under construction or planned. About a decade ago, there were only 25. As Banks Topple, Regulators Face Reckoning for Week of Mayhem On Monday, the head of the FDIC warned bankers in Washington about a [$620 billion risk]( lurking in the US financial system. By Friday, two banks had succumbed to it. Whether regulators saw the dangers brewing and took enough action before the collapse of Silvergate Capital and much larger SVB is now open to debate. - The Biden administration offered assurances that the US financial system would [weather the collapse]( of SVB and that regulators were closely monitoring developments. - Coming Soon: Understand power in Washington through the lens of business, government and the economy. [Sign up for the new Bloomberg Washington Edition newsletter](, delivered Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. ‘Sore Loser’ Laws Undercut Trump’s Threat of a Third-Party Run Donald Trump [hates losing so much]( he has suggested he’ll mount a third-party campaign if he doesn’t win the Republican presidential nomination. But he can’t win that way either, [Ryan Teague Beckwith]( writes, given “sore loser” laws in six of the states he would need to return to the White House. - A Democratic super-PAC is coming out early — and big — for the 2024 race, launching ads in [battleground states]( to tout Biden’s economic agenda. NATO Call for Weapons Offers Hope to Town That Armed the Enemy The latest conflict in Europe offers a flicker of hope to a place seemingly in terminal decline. [Daniel Hornak]( and [Andrea Dudik]( report from Prakovce in Slovakia on how the desperation to ramp up weapons production to help Ukraine repel Russia is about to reach a town that had been left to its [isolation long ago](. Workers in the arms industry were given new apartments during the town’s heyday. Photographer: Michaela Nagyidaiova/Bloomberg Best of Bloomberg Explainers this week - [How Israel’s Far-Right Turn Sparks Protests, Clashes]( - [Why South Korea-Japan Ties Are Plagued by History]( - [How Nigerian Crackdown on Vast Cash Economy Backfired]( - [Cyberattacks Are Just One Part of Hybrid Warfare]( - [How Singapore’s First Family House Feud Keeps Growing]( Russians Choose Argentina’s 100% Inflation Over Putin’s War In downtown Buenos Aires, young mothers push buggies in the late summer heat as locals sip maté in the shade. The scene would be typical of any middle-class neighborhood in a Latin American capital but for one thing: the moms are all speaking Russian. [Scott Squires]( reports on the [Russians heading for Argentina]( since Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. Victoria Bogataya, nine months pregnant, arrived in January with her husband. Photographer: Sarah Pabst/Bloomberg Biden Fires $6.9 Trillion Salvo to Open Budget Showdown Biden unveiled his budget proposal on Thursday, a [defiant opening salvo]( in high-stakes negotiations with congressional Republicans over the debt ceiling and government funding. The plan, certain to be rejected by the Republican-controlled House of Representatives, showed little inclination for compromise, asking lawmakers to bolster the social safety net through a flurry of new taxes on the wealthy and corporations. - Conventional wisdom says the US will avoid a [devastating federal payments default]( this year. But that idea has proved spectacularly wrong months ahead of shocks that upended the world in recent years.  A “debt clock” in New York City counts the national debt. Photographer: Fatih Aktas/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images An LGBTQ Revolution in India Sets the Pace for Global Change India’s Supreme Court is set to start hearing petitions from LGBTQ couples next week seeking the [right to marry](. As [Kai Schultz]( and [Muneeza Naqvi]( explain, it’s a remarkably swift move in a country that only decriminalized homosexuality in 2018. A positive judgement would more than double the number of people globally with marriage equality rights, eventually cementing inheritance, adoption and other protections for all 1.4 billion Indians. Aditi Anand, left, and Susan Dias became part of the first group of Indians to petition the Supreme Court for the legal right to marry. Photographer: Saumya Khandelwal/Bloomberg Erdogan Kicks Off Toughest Election Campaign of 20-Year Rule Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan brought elections forward by more than a month to May 14, despite [twin earthquakes]( devastating much of the country’s southeast last month. The broadest-ever opposition alliance stands between him and a third decade in power. Massive Bribes, Missing Witnesses in Big Nigeria Trial Allegations of six-figure bribes, [shady middlemen]( and fabricated evidence featured in a $11 billion UK trial that could cost Nigeria a third of its foreign reserves. And finally …. Women across urban Iran are reclaiming autonomy over if, when and where they wear a hijab. As well as testing the legal boundaries, their [quiet defiance is visibly transforming Tehran]( in a way that’s become the most immediate legacy of the latest revolt against the regime. As [Golnar Motevalli]( writes, it’s not gone unnoticed by the authorities. A woman in Tehran without a mandatory headscarf. Photo credit: Getty Images Follow Us Like getting this newsletter? [Subscribe to Bloomberg.com]( for unlimited access to trusted, data-driven journalism and subscriber-only insights. Want to sponsor this newsletter? [Get in touch here](. 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