Can US-China rivalry benefit both superpowers?: Weekend Reads

The top political stories of the week [View in browser]( [Bloomberg]( US-China [competition]( shouldn’t be a zero-sum game. That was the message Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen delivered during her visit to Beijing aimed at finding some common ground between the two superpowers on issues ranging from technology and trade to Taiwan’s security. US President Joe Biden decided to [send cluster bombs]( to Ukraine to support the country’s counteroffensive against Russian invasion forces, overruling concerns about the grave danger they pose to civilians. French President Emmanuel Macron pledged swift government support to help mayors rebuild schools, libraries and town halls destroyed during a week of violence [that swept across the country]( after the police shooting of a teenager. Delve into these and other top stories in this edition of Weekend Reads.  —[Karl Maier]( Yellen attends a roundtable with US business people operating in China in Beijing on Friday. Photographer: Andrea Verdelli/Bloomberg Check out the latest [Washington Edition newsletter](. You can [sign up]( to get it in your inbox every weekday. And if you are enjoying this newsletter, sign up [here](. Yellen Says US, China Should Jointly Tackle Climate-Change Issue China and the US should join forces to tackle climate change, Yellen said about what she called an “existential threat.” Despite often tense relations, Yellen has often argued that the two nations [have a duty to cooperate]( on major global challenges including environmental issues. China Restricts Export of Chipmaking Metals in Clash With US As Beijing battles for technological dominance in quantum computing, artificial intelligence and chip manufacturing, it [imposed restrictions]( on exporting two key metals: gallium and germanium, along with their chemical compounds. The move marked an escalation of the tit-for-tat trade war on technology with the US and Europe. - What exactly are gallium and germanium and how important are they? Read this [quick recap](. Sweden NATO Goal Enters Home Stretch as Turkey Upholds Block Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson will meet Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday as he makes a last-ditch push to convince Turkey that his nation should be allowed to join NATO. The goal is to end a year-long stalemate that’s [stunted the alliance’s northern expansion]( before a key meeting of NATO leaders in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius starting Tuesday. - Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is among Asian leaders seeking [to enhance ties]( with NATO during the summit as they grapple with how to deal with China. - Russia is preparing to send more Chechen fighters and convicts to Ukraine [to fill holes]( left by Wagner mercenaries that were pulled from the battlefield, European intelligence officials believe. US Middle Class’s Economic Anxiety Will Decide the 2024 Election Biden is obsessed with the American middle class: It’s the target of everything from his administration’s efforts to rewrite economic policy and seed an industrial revival to its geopolitical competition with China. But the president [has a problem]( going into next year’s election, with the middle class feeling poorer and displaying persistent angst about the future. Best of Bloomberg Opinion This Week - [French Riots’ Deja Vu Raises Stakes for Macron: Lionel Laurent]( - [Why It’s Time for Hope on LGBTQ Rights in Asia: Ruth Pollard]( - [Supreme Court Needs New Ethics Rules Before October: Gabe Roth]( - [Japan Is Growing Closer to Abe’s Grand Vision: Gearoid Reidy]( - [Why We’re Losing Faith in the ‘Church’ of the NHS: Martin Ivens]( Riots in France Expose Decades of Failure in Tinderbox Suburbs Angry and disillusioned youth in blighted suburbs around Paris 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 have turned them into tinderboxes. French police officers use tear gas in Paris on June 2. Photographer: Ludovic Marin/AFP/Getty Images Israel Ends West Bank Military Raid That Killed 12 Palestinians The 44-hour raid on the Jenin refugee camp to target what it called Iran-funded militants was Israel’s biggest air attack on the occupied West Bank in two decades, Ethan Bronner writes. For the 17,000 residents of the settlement — descendants of Palestinians displaced in the 1948 war that led to Israel’s creation — the [assault was painful](, killing 12 people, driving several thousand from their homes and leaving others without water or electricity. A destroyed vehicle in Jenin on July 5. Photographer: Jaafar Ashtiyeh/AFP/Getty Images Sunak Faces Three Weeks of Danger in Bid to Revive Tories An awkward three-week political test is approaching for Rishi Sunak that’s likely to have a lasting impact on his UK premiership. Stuart Biggs writes that parliament goes on summer recess on July 20, the same day Sunak’s Conservatives face three special elections ahead of a fall political season that will be critical [to shifting predictions]( of a loss in a general election expected in 2024. UK Needs to Revive Rich Mining Past to Counter China on Minerals The southwestern-most tip of England once boasted the richest mines in the world, with copper and tin extracted in Cornwall since ancient times. 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. At the head of the Tuckingmill Decline at Cornish Metals’ South Crofty mine in Cornwall on June 6. Photographer: Tom Skipp/Bloomberg Best of Bloomberg Explainers This Week - [Will AI Take My Job? It's the Hot Topic This Summer]( - [How Biden Lost the Fight for Student Loan Forgiveness]( - [Ill in England? Your Location Can Determine If You Live or Die]( - [Why Belarus Is Helping Russia in Its War in Ukraine]( - [Why Meta Is Launching a Twitter Rival Called Threads  Â]( A $30 Billion Disaster Is Just the Tip of a Deadly Climate Cycle With monsoon season approaching, Pakistan has already seen heavy rains and strong winds resulting in dozens of fatalities when the scars of last year’s catastrophic flooding are far from healed. Coco Liu and Faseeh Mangi explain that the [South Asian nation is emblematic]( of many developing economies where climate change is driving more intense rainfall, flooding, and damage to the economy. A view of a tent city in Karachi on May 21. Photographer: Asim Hafeez/Bloomberg India Increases Africa Lending in the Race to Counter China Africa is now the second-largest recipient of credit from India as the country tries [to catch up with China]( in expanding its influence in the resource-rich continent. Sudhi Ranjan Sen explains that despite efforts by India to boost its influence, it lags behind its bigger and wealthier neighbor in making inroads in Africa.  Mitsotakis Steps Up Reforms to Send Greek Crisis to History Looking to capitalize on a solid parliamentary majority, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is [stepping up the pace]( of reform at the start of his second term to consign Greece’s crisis years to history. In an interview with Bloomberg Television’s Francine Lacqua, Mitsotakis set out plans and objectives for the next four years that aim to consolidate the country’s position in the European Union after years of economic hardship. WATCH: Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis speaking in an exclusive interview with Bloomberg. Source: Bloomberg And finally … Global temperatures hit records for three days this week, raising concerns over the impact of extreme heat and the rapid pace of climate change. Aaron Clark reports that the [extreme weather]( may put more pressure on world leaders to curb greenhouse gas emissions generated from burning coal, oil and natural gas that trap heat in the atmosphere. The effects of climate change are being exacerbated by the arrival of the first El Niño in almost four years. The Rhine River’s water levels are on track to fall to critically low levels again this summer, as extreme heat scorches parts of Europe. Photographer: Alex Kraus/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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