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NATO leaders have warned that China poses “systemic challenges” to the rules-based international order, a sign of the West’s growing unease over Beijing’s military ambitions.

Members of the transatlantic alliance meeting in Brussels on Monday cited activities such as disinformation, Chinese military cooperation with Russia and the rapid expansion of China’s nuclear arsenal under the threat, according to a statement from the ‘NATO.

The strength of the statement shows how relations between the West and Beijing have deteriorated in the 18 months since the last meeting of NATO countries. Then, they issued a cautious statement on the “opportunities and challenges” presented by China.

The harsher language at US President Joe Biden’s first NATO summit comes as Cold War-era members of the 72-year military pact pledged to expand cooperation into new theaters of conflict, from cyberspace to outer space.

Five stories in the news

1. EDF requests an examination of the data of a possible radiation leak in China The French state-backed power company said it was looking to hold an extraordinary board meeting at its joint venture nuclear power plant in southern China after a report of a possible leak of “certain rare gases”. Noble gases are inert gases, such as helium, xenon, and radon.

2. Toshiba Chairman of the Board rejects calls to resign Osamu Nagayama on Monday rejected calls from shareholders to step down and stressed that his role is to deal with the turmoil in Japanese society as the conglomerate sinks into a governance crisis.

3. The father-son couple plead guilty to orchestrating Ghosn’s escape Michael Taylor, the 60-year-old former Green Beret, and his son Peter, 28, who have been accused of orchestrating Carlos Ghosn’s elaborate escape from Japan via high-speed train, private jet and box equipment pleaded guilty in a Tokyo court. They face up to three years in prison.

4. JPMorgan’s investment banking boom According to chief executive Jamie Dimon, JPMorgan Chase could have one of its best quarters for transaction fees, helping to offset sluggish loan growth and slowing trading income for the bank.

• More banking news: ECU Group claimed in the UK High Court that a ‘rotten culture’ infiltrated HSBC’s foreign exchange trading desk between 2004 and 2006, with bankers misusing confidential information to ‘execute’ customer orders. HSBC has denied accusations of fraud and misconduct by the currency manager.

5. Lordstown Motors CEO and CFO resign The CEO and CFO of electric vehicle start-up Lordstown Motors resigned less than a week after the company said it was at risk of bankruptcy due to a lack of funds.

Coronavirus digest

• Boris Johnson delayed the full opening of the UK economy by four weeks due to an increase in coronavirus cases. the good news Public Health England has confirmed that BioNTech / Pfizer and Oxford / AstraZeneca vaccines are over 90% effective in preventing hospitalizations due to the Delta variant.

• In a rare interview, Chinese virologist Shi Zhengli said speculation about a lab leak at the Wuhan Institute of Virology is baseless. But China’s refusal to allow an independent investigation makes its request difficult to validate.

• Morgan Stanley CEO’s harsh message to New York employees: “If you can go to a restaurant in New York, you can come to the office and we want you to be in the office. “

• by Novavax The Covid-19 vaccine was 90% effective in its advanced stage trial in the United States and Mexico and has been shown to fight against viral variants of concern. (FT, NYT)

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The day to come

Federal Reserve Interest Rate Setting Meeting When U.S. central bank officials meet today for their two-day monetary policy meeting, the question of whether the central bank should start talking about cutting its monthly bond buying program by $ 120 billion will be the starting point.

• Notice: The Fed’s reaction to the current surge in US inflation has consequences for its credibility, says Mohamed El-Erian.

US-EU Summit With Joe Biden attending a US-EU summit on Tuesday, his administration has retained far more of Trump policy than the EU would like, notes Alan Beattie in Trade Secrets. Sign up here to receive the newsletter in your inbox.

The FT Commodities Global Summit With some predicting a repeat of the commodities supercycle of the 2000s, the schedule for this year’s event starting today will assess how commodities traders seize new opportunities as markets move and fundamentals change. register here.

What else do we read

Is it all over for Israel’s “homecoming kid”? Benjamin Netanyahu’s dethronement has been slow and overwhelming. It took four deadlocked elections in two years, and an eight-party coalition, to topple the 12-year-old prime minister. But the new coalition is so fragile that some believe the ousted leader could still return.

The passage of Libor is painful but necessary Despite all the chaos of the transition out of the London Interbank Offered Rate, treasurers are supporting the change. The measure, based on low volumes of actual transactions, defined by a small group of bankers of 20 lenders, was not suited to play such a gigantic role in global finance, writes FT’s Claire Jones.

Boris crumpled, Macron’s error and other sartorial missteps of the G7 The diplomatic power of dress was in the spotlight at the Cornish summit. American-style financial writer and columnist Rob Armstrong breaks down top winners and losers – against the backdrop of their lawsuits.

Central banks wonder how to tackle the crypto market Regulators and central banks fight for control of the monetary system as cryptocurrencies become a growing challenge for fiat currencies, threatening to blunt the levers that policymakers rely on to control the functioning of their economies.

U.S.-China trade war made Shein stronger in China Last month, the Chinese e-commerce platform became the most downloaded shopping app in the United States, breaking Amazon’s 152-day streak. The company’s success, which has been valued at as much as $ 30 billion, may be due to a change in China’s tax code during the trade war era. But a number of brands claim that Shein’s success has also been aided by “willful and calculated” trademark infringement. (Bloomberg, FT)

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