Battle-testing Xi’s peacemaking

Xi Jinping must follow through after his call to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. [View in browser]( [Bloomberg]( Fourteen months after Russia’s invasion began, Xi Jinping finally picked up the phone to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. Now the Chinese leader will face pressure to follow through. Xi’s failure to speak with Zelenskiy after engaging repeatedly with Russian President Vladimir Putin undermined China’s credibility in casting itself as a superpower able to act as a global peacemaker. Key Reading: - [The Hard Part for Xi Starts Now After Finally Calling Zelenskiy]( - [Xi Finally Talks to Zelenskiy as China Seeks Peacemaker Role]( - [China Distances Itself From Envoy Remark on Ex-Soviet States]( - [Ukraine War Aid Faces New Hurdle as Slovak Leader Eyes Return]( - Follow our [rolling coverage]( of the war in Ukraine. His intervention comes just as Ukraine is gearing up for a counteroffensive to push Russian troops out of occupied southern and eastern territories. That risks leaving Xi an onlooker, even as he pledged to send a special envoy to foster a diplomatic resolution. That mission currently looks as vague as Beijing’s earlier 12-point peace blueprint that Ukraine’s US and European allies quickly dismissed as too favorable toward Moscow. Xi made a three-day visit to the Russian capital last month where he and Putin emphasized their friendship. They share a deep distrust of the US and a common interest in opposing Washington. The one-hour discussion between Xi and Zelenskiy pales in comparison. Coming only days after China’s ambassador to France stoked outrage for questioning the independence of former Soviet states like Ukraine, the suspicion lingers that Xi’s call amounts to little more than an attempt at damage control. Still, Zelenskiy called the talks “productive” and said they’d continue communications. Xi said negotiations are “the only viable way out” of the conflict. China has had recent diplomatic wins, notably helping Iran and Saudi Arabia restore relations. But mediating a resolution of Europe’s worst conflict since World War II is a different order of challenge. So far, at least, there’s little sign that China’s effort will lead to any change on the battlefield. A destroyed Russian T-80 tank in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine. Photographer: John Moore/Getty Images Listen to our Twitter Space discussion on the geopolitical impact of the [conflict in Sudan]( for key Gulf countries, Africa and the US. Understand power in Washington through the lens of business, government and the economy. [Sign up]( for the new Bloomberg Washington Edition newsletter delivered weekdays. And if you are enjoying this newsletter, sign up [here](. Global Headlines Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan [canceled]( a visit to a landmark nuclear project today and delayed his planned attendance by video link along with Putin. Erdogan, who is campaigning to extend his 20-year rule in an election in a little over two weeks, fell ill during a live TV interview late on Tuesday and has stayed out of public view since. A potential rematch between Joe Biden and Donald Trump in next year’s US presidential election may be the best contest that Democrats can hope for. While a majority of Americans are [unsure]( about Biden’s accomplishments of the past two years, and the economy remains a particular concern, polls show he stands the best chance against Trump among potential Republican contenders. - Speaker Kevin McCarthy squeaked his [debt limit bill]( through the House yesterday, winning a political victory that intensifies the standoff with Biden over averting a catastrophic US default. European Union finance ministers meeting in Sweden this week are expected to [lock horns]( over proposals to reform the bloc’s spending rules that are pitting fiscally hawkish Germany against more highly indebted member states. South Korea was rewarded with a greater say in how America deploys its nuclear umbrella and assurances it would be used to retaliate against a North Korean attack as President Yoon Suk Yeol struck a deal with Biden during a state visit. The agreement could serve as a much-needed win for Yoon, whose support recently fell to its lowest level in about six months. Read about the [key takeaways]( from the summit. - Biden stressed that a North Korean [nuclear attack]( on the US and its allies would be the end of Kim Jong Un’s regime. Best of Bloomberg Opinion - [US and China Need to Call Timeout in Their Rivalry: Minxin Pei]( - [The Prophet of National Conservatism: Adrian Wooldridge]( - [Hong Kong Is Finally Doing Two Things Right: Shuli Ren]( Diplomats stepped up efforts to extend a truce between two warring Sudanese generals, racing against time to persuade them to meet and [avert an escalation]( in violence many fear will reverberate outside the North African nation’s borders. The fighting that erupted between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces on April 15 has deepened the economic plight of the impoverished nation. - British citizens in Sudan must board evacuation flights today or risk being [trapped]( there when the cease-fire ends, UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said. China sent naval ships to pick up its citizens. Evacuees from Sudan arrive at a military air base in Amman, Jordan, on Monday. Photographer: Khalil Mazraawi/Getty Images Explainers You Can Use - [Biden’s Made in America Push Sparks Global Subsidies Arms Race]( - [Why Flying Is So Expensive and Likely to Remain That Way]( - [Big Tech Has Formidable Foe in Britain’s Antitrust Watchdog]( Walt Disney sued Florida Governor Ron DeSantis yesterday, alleging that he engaged in a political effort to [hurt its business](. [Tal Barak Harif]( and [Felipe Marques]( break down the events of a dispute that started more than a year ago with DeSantis’s criticism of one of his state’s top employers over its perceived liberal agenda, like backing LGBTQ+ rights. Tune in to Bloomberg TV’s Balance of Power at 5pm to 6pm ET weekdays with Washington correspondents [Annmarie Hordern]( and [Joe Mathieu](. You can watch and listen on Bloomberg channels and online [here](. News to Note - Colombian investors [are reeling]( from the ouster of the man who did more than anyone else to bolster their faith in the country under its first-ever leftist government: finance chief Jose Antonio Ocampo. - The Air National Guardsman [charged]( with the most damaging intelligence disclosures in a decade tried to cover his tracks by destroying computer equipment and warning an online gaming associate to delete their messages, US prosecutors said. - Fired Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson emerged on Twitter yesterday for the first time since he was ousted from Rupert Murdoch’s empire, with a [two-minute broadside]( against US media and politics. - Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said in a video that he’s fine and working amid his [third positive]( Covid-19 diagnosis, in his first public appearance since Sunday. - A senior executive in Japan’s ruling party said he’ll seek to pass a law promoting understanding of [the LGBTQ community]( before the country hosts the Group of Seven summit in less than a month. And finally ... The [deadly combination]( of high temperatures and low rainfall that affected millions and killed tens of thousands of people in the Horn of Africa last year was made about 100 times more likely by climate change. A World Weather Attribution study showed global warming is altering rain patterns and bringing more heat to southern Somalia, eastern Kenya and southern Ethiopia. Cattle carcasses on the outskirts of Garissa, Kenya, in May 2022. Photographer: Simon Marks/Bloomberg 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. 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