Global Leaders Juggle Rates, Oil, and China Ties

Keir Starmer, the UK Prime Minister, met with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday to strengthen economic ties between the two nations, marking the first visit by a UK leader to China in eight years, according to The Guardian. The meeting occurred amidst uncertainty regarding the reliability of the US as a partner, The Guardian reported.

Starmer insisted he was "clear-eyed" about the threat China poses to the UK's national security, The Guardian noted. The 40-minute meeting aimed to bolster the bond between the UK and China, according to The Guardian.

In other international news, Mexico's President, Claudia Sheinbaum, confirmed the cancellation of an oil shipment to Cuba, The Guardian reported. She insisted the decision was a sovereign one and not a response to pressure from the US, after former US President Trump said zero oil would go to Cuba, according to The Guardian. Fuel shortages are causing increasingly severe blackouts in Cuba, and Mexico has been the island's biggest oil supplier since the US blocked shipments, The Guardian stated.

Meanwhile, the US Federal Reserve voted to hold interest rates steady, keeping its key lending rate between 3.5 and 3.75, BBC Business reported. The Fed stated that economic activity in the US "has been expanding at a solid pace," according to BBC Business. Fed Chair Jerome Powell defended the importance of central bank independence, BBC Business noted. This decision comes as former US President Donald Trump has frequently criticized Powell for not cutting rates quickly enough, BBC Business reported. Federal prosecutors recently opened a criminal investigation over testimony Powell gave to the Senate about renovations to Fed buildings, according to BBC Business. Powell declined to comment on the probe, but said that if a central bank lost its independence, it would be a very bad thing.

Adding to the complex geopolitical landscape, US intelligence agencies reportedly disagree with Trump's opposition to the Chagos deal, according to Starmer, as reported by The Guardian. Downing Street sources say the agreement is a done deal and will not be scuppered by the US president's U-turn, The Guardian stated. Starmer underlined how the US administration had supported the deal as it bolstered their defenses, The Guardian reported.