Putin undercuts his ‘old friend’ on nukes

Today we look at how Xi’s “no limits friendship” with Putin may have hit a limit [View in browser]( [Bloomberg]( Chinese President Xi Jinping is working overtime to fashion himself as a statesman on the global stage. His “old friend” in Russia isn’t helping. Having given assistance to a deal for Saudi Arabia and Iran to resume diplomatic ties, Xi has turned his gaze to other geopolitical troubles: Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine and the need to reset China-US ties (again) in order to give his own economy space to grow. Key reading: - [Putin’s Belarus Nuclear Move Is at Odds With China Pledge]( - [Putin Says Russia to Place Tactical Nuclear Arms in Belarus]( - [Why Putin’s ‘Tactical’ Nuclear Threats Raise Alarm]( - [War and Secretive Spending Is Eating Away at Russia’s Budget]( - Follow our rolling coverage of the war [here](. Xi traveled to Moscow for three days where he held lengthy talks with Putin alongside toasts to their “no limits friendship.” They declared in a joint statement that “all nuclear weapons states should refrain from deploying nuclear weapons abroad.” But just days later, Putin undercut Xi in announcing plans to ship tactical nuclear weapons to neighboring Belarus, which borders Ukraine. That would be the first time Russia has stored such weapons abroad since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Whether Putin is bluffing on his arsenal, it puts Xi in an awkward spot in his efforts to make China a reliable broker in mediating conflicts — he spoke today with the Saudi crown prince again on Iran. Xi has neither overtly backed nor heavily criticized Putin over Ukraine. But one thing he has clearly stated for months: Russia should not use nuclear weapons in the fight. Putin’s posturing may raise doubts on how much influence Xi has over him, even taking into account Russia’s economic dependence on China and the Russian president’s need for diplomatic supporters. Xi was expected to have a call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy within days of his Moscow visit, having not spoken to him since Russia’s invasion. That chat hasn’t yet materialized. If or when it does, Zelenskiy would be within his rights to ask Xi if Putin actually listens to anyone. — [Rosalind Mathieson]( Russian nuclear-weapons bunkers identified by the US Federation of American Scientists in Kaliningrad, a Russian enclave on the Baltic coast. Source: Bloomberg Click [here]( to subscribe to our weekly newsletter Next Africa, and if you are enjoying this newsletter, sign up [here](. Global Headlines Last resort | China has become the go-to lender for poorer nations seeking to speed their development by tapping Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative. Yet with a growing number struggling to pay their debts, China is bailing out those same nations it’s been lending to. A [study]( released today shows how Beijing has channeled at least $240 billion into 22 countries since 2000. Pause for thought | Israeli President Isaac Herzog called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and opposition leaders to immediately start talks after the government [paused]( a controversial push to overhaul the judicial system. Following a day of almost unprecedented strikes and protests, Netanyahu said he’ll delay the plan to prevent the nation being “torn to shreds.” Anti-government demonstrators have vowed to press on. - Follow our rolling coverage of the latest developments [here](. Alarmed by an accelerating slide in the number of babies born in Japan, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is preparing a package that he says is a [last chance]( to keep society functioning. Compulsory paternity leave, canceling student debt for parents and big payouts for a third child are among ideas being considered, as the government lays out a path to double spending on measures by June. Rising tensions | A new day, a new [round of protests]( is taking place in France to pressure President Emmanuel Macron into reversing his decision to push through unpopular pension reforms. Unions are calling nationwide strikes disrupting everything from train services and subways to airline flights and electricity supplies, and blaming the government for creating an explosive situation as concerns grow over mounting violence. Best of Bloomberg Opinion - [Israel’s Democratic Claims Face More Tests Ahead: Bobby Ghosh]( - [Blocking the Louvre Won]([’]([t Defuse Pensions Bomb: Lionel Laurent]( - [Modi Doesn’t Need to Use the Autocrat’s Playbook: Mihir Sharma]( Diversifying Britain | Humza Yousaf’s election as Scotland’s new leader means that three of the UK’s top positions are held by men who are [people of color](, joining Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and London Mayor Sadiq Khan. Yousaf will become the first Muslim to be appointed First Minister today, and his rise to power comes at a time of increasing political participation for ethnic minorities across the UK. Explainers You Can Use - [Why Belarus Is in Lockstep With Russia Over Ukraine]( - [What Broke Sweden? Real Estate Bust Exposes Big Divide]( - [China’s Rooftops Are Becoming the Key to the World’s Solar Boom]( Political slant | Four out of five Republicans regard the multiple investigations into former US President Donald Trump, including whether he paid hush money to an adult film star, as a “[witch hunt](,” while 56% of all adults describe the probes as fair, a national Marist poll showed. Recent surveys still put him as the frontrunner to win his party’s 2024 presidential primary. - Trump’s first wife, Ivana, was under an FBI counterintelligence inquiry into [allegations]( about her connections in her home country of Czechoslovakia in the 1990s, excerpts from her FBI file obtained by Bloomberg News showed. Ivana Trump in 2018. Photographer: Noam Galai/Getty Images The US government is threatening to ban TikTok. Again. The Big Take podcast takes you inside the latest chapter in the saga between the US government and TikTok. Listen to the episode on [Bloomberg](, [Apple]( and [Spotify](. News to Note - Greece will hold [elections]( on May 21, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said today, with a second ballot likely to be needed about a month later. - Kim Jong Un said North Korea is [ready]( to use nuclear weapons “anytime and anywhere,” delivering a new threat as a US aircraft carrier group arrives in South Korea. - California will limit the amount of [profit]( oil companies can earn in the state under legislation pushed by Governor Gavin Newsom to control soaring gasoline prices. - Nearly 8% of the record $58 billion that Mexicans mainly living in the US sent home last year appears to be linked to [illegal]( activities, including money laundering, according to a new report. - Fox News [fired]( a producer who claimed she’d been coerced to give false deposition testimony in the $1.6 billion defamation suit by Dominion Voting Systems over the network’s broadcasting of 2020 election-fraud claims. And finally ... After fleeing poverty and hunger in North Korea, defectors to South Korea often struggle to survive when government support runs out. [Sangmi Cha]( and [Jon Herskovitz]( explain that, while resettlement should be easy in theory because they’re moving to a country with a common language, culture and traditions, some from North Korea experience deep isolation — and even starvation — in cases that end in [tragedy](. A makeshift shrine for North Korean defector Han Sung-ok and her son, who are believed to have died from starvation, in Seoul in 2019. Photographer: Jung Yeon-je/AFP/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](. You received this message because you are subscribed to Bloomberg's Bloomberg Politics newsletter. If a friend forwarded you this message, [sign up here]( to get it in your inbox. [Unsubscribe]( [Bloomberg.com]( [Contact Us]( Bloomberg L.P. 731 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY 10022 [Ads Powered By Liveintent]( [Ad Choices](