Fighting nicely

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is seeking to improve communication with China [View in browser]( [Bloomberg]( The US and China are trying to find better ways to disagree. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen touched down in Beijing today, the second US cabinet member to visit the capital in recent weeks after Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s trip. That visit was aimed at smoothing over ties following an alleged Chinese surveillance balloon over the US that initially scuppered his plans. Key Reading: [Yellen China Visit Seeks to Create More Talks Amid Tensions]( [Xi Urges Open Supply Chains After Curb on Key Metal Exports]( [US Considers Limits on Cloud Computing For China]( [Xi’s Metal Curbs Risk Backfiring as G-7 Seeks Alternatives]( [China Takes the Trade Fight to Europe, Targeting the Green Deal]( Beijing tends to prefer visits from overseas officials linked to commerce or trade — allowing the conversation to focus on business instead of politics. The trouble is those two agendas can no longer be divorced, even superficially. Yellen may be seeking to get to know her newly appointed counterparts, but actually repairing ties is still likely well out of reach — US support for Taiwan, which Beijing claims as part of its territory, remains one source of tension among many. Both countries have retaliatory darts aimed at one another. Beijing this week introduced controls over two metals used in chipmaking and telecommunications. President Joe Biden’s administration is working on an executive order that would curb US investment to China covering sensitive technologies including semiconductors, artificial intelligence and quantum computing. There are some possible mutual wins on the table — perhaps over China’s debt relief to distressed sovereign borrowers or on climate change — but the threat of still more technology restrictions can’t be ignored. And that makes it near impossible for either side to forge a constructive working relationship. The best hope, then, is for Washington and Beijing to use their improved channels of communication to learn how to compete — without triggering conflict.  — [Rebecca Choong Wilkins]( Chinese Vice-Premier Liu He and Yellen in Zurich on Jan. 18. Photographer: Sebastien Bozon/AFP/GEtty Images Listen to our [Twitter Space discussion]( on how the riots in France don’t just pose a test for President Emmanuel Macron but may presage a summer of discontent for Europe, politically and economically. And if you are enjoying this newsletter, sign up [here](. Global Headlines Russia may be losing its heavy weapons edge in Ukraine. An [update]( of data maintained by Germany’s Kiel Institute for the World Economy said Ukraine’s backers had delivered 471 tanks since the war started, with another 286 still to arrive. Combined with a tally of equipment lost or captured compiled by the intelligence group Oryx, the figures suggest a shift in the balance of weaponry on the battlefield, with Ukraine’s tank fleet growing as Russia’s has halved. - Wagner mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin, who staged an aborted rebellion against the Kremlin’s military leadership last month, is [in Russia]( now, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko said today. - Follow our Ukraine [Recap]( for the latest coverage of the war. Sweden is making a last-ditch push to convince Turkey that the Nordic nation should be [allowed to join NATO]( before a key meeting in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius next week. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s contention that Sweden isn’t doing enough to clamp down on groups Ankara views as terrorist has led to a year-long stalemate that’s stunted the alliance’s northern expansion. - A Swedish court today found a Turkish national guilty of attempted extortion on behalf of the [militant Kurdish group]( PKK. - Biden said yesterday Washington “fully, fully, fully supports” [Sweden’s membership](. Former US President Donald Trump raked in more than $35 million in the second quarter as an army of small donors rallied to his side despite his mounting legal woes. The fundraising haul comes as Trump remains the frontrunner for the Republican Party nomination for next year’s election. Bill Allison writes that the charges Trump faces, including 37 felony counts related to mishandling classified materials and conspiring to stymie efforts by US officials to recover them, [have only fired up]( his supporters. - Read about [new details]( from the Justice Department’s investigation into the secret documents case. Best of Bloomberg Opinion - [Conservatism’s In Crisis But Can Be Rescued: Adrian Wooldridge]( - [White House Social Media Back Channel Must End: Dave Lee]( - [Central Banks Should Stop Hammering the Economy: Marcus Ashworth]( Angry and disillusioned youth in blighted suburbs around Paris, known as the banlieues, coupled with an increasingly ill-trained police force have created a [volatile mix]( that fueled the fierce clashes last week in France’s worst riots in nearly two decades. Ania Nussbaum, Tara Patel and William Horobin look at how the failure of government plans to uplift the areas and a breakdown in the residents’ trust in state institutions, from the police to mayors, have turned the areas into tinderboxes. Riot police face protesters during clashes in Nanterre, near Paris on June 29. Photographer: Christophe Ena/AP Photo Explainers You Can Use - [China Sees Suicide Rise Among Young Facing School Pressure]( - [There’s No Way to Slash Airline Emissions Without Greener Fuel]( - [Police Raid Leaves Russian Billionaire’s Domestic Staff in Limbo]( President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is aiming to put one of his darlings, Gabriel Galipolo, [on track]( to be the next head of Brazil’s central bank. The Senate approved the appointments of Galipolo and Ailton Aquino to open seats on the nine-member board of directors in the opening step of Lula’s drive to shape the future of the bank that he’s been feuding with and is dominated by the appointments of his predecessor, Jair Bolsonaro. Check out the latest Big Take podcast for a discussion on NATO’s agenda this year, including the implications of expanding the alliance as Sweden’s membership bid hangs in the balance. Listen [here]( and on [Apple]( and [Spotify](. News to Note - The Biden administration’s [battle]( with Republican-led states over free-speech limits escalated with its appeal of a judge’s order barring federal officials and agencies from communicating with social media companies over postings they deem objectionable. - Germany’s top court [stopped parliament]( from voting immediately on a controversial plan to ban installations of natural gas and oil-fired home-heating systems, delaying a key government climate initiative. - Australia’s home affairs minister [deleted a tweet]( where she called Trump’s son a “big baby” and a “sore loser” over suggestions his Australia tour had been postponed due to visa delays. - A British Member of Parliament whose alleged misconduct helped trigger then Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s downfall a year ago, was charged with [abuse of power]( by a parliamentary ethics committee. - Silvio Berlusconi’s eldest daughter and son [tightened their grip]( over the business empire founded by the ex-Italian premier who died last month, sources say. And finally ... The southwestern-most tip of England once boasted the [richest]( mines in the world, with copper and tin extracted in Cornwall since ancient times. The last tin mine closed in 1998, but now there are efforts to reopen it as part of a flurry of sub-surface activity that includes exploration for lithium and tungsten as well as tapping geothermal energy. As Alan Crawford reports, the renewed push is due to US-China tensions over clean tech and the rush for critical minerals — but many fear the UK risks getting left behind without a concerted strategy and funding from the government. Workers drill cores in the South Crofty mine near Redruth on June 6. Photographer: Tom Skipp/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](. 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