This article is an on-site version of our FirstFT newsletter. Subscribers can sign up to our Asia<\/a>, Europe\/Africa<\/a> or Americas<\/a> edition to get the newsletter delivered every weekday morning. Explore all of our newsletters here<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Good morning and welcome back to FirstFT Asia. In today\u2019s newsletter: <\/p>\n US expresses optimism over China trade talks<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Fragile India-Pakistan ceasefire holds <\/p>\n<\/li>\n Scotch makers toast UK-India trade deal<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n Treasury secretary Scott Bessent yesterday said the US and China had made \u201csubstantial progress\u201d over two days of trade talks<\/a> in Geneva. The optimistic comments were the first sign that Washington and Beijing may start to ratchet down economic tensions. <\/p>\n What US and Chinese officials said:<\/strong> \u201cWe will be giving details tomorrow, but I can tell you that the talks were productive,\u201d Bessent told reporters after he and US trade representative Jamieson Greer finished their meetings with Chinese vice-premier He Lifeng.\u00a0Greer said it was \u201cimportant to understand how quickly we were able to come to agreement, which reflects that perhaps the differences were not so large as maybe thought\u201d and added that there had been a \u201clot of groundwork\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Chinese vice-premier said the two sides had held candid and constructive talks and had agreed to create a consultative mechanism to continue trade and economic negotiations, according to Reuters. <\/p>\n What\u2019s at stake:<\/strong> The US has placed a 145 per cent tariff on goods from China while Beijing has retaliated with its own 125 per cent levy \u2014 measures that have roiled financial markets and triggered concerns about global supply chains. Bessent said China faced economic challenges and had more incentive to come to the table. But the Trump administration became more concerned following warnings from Wall Street and after retail giants Walmart and Target told the president that store shelves would become empty. Read the full story<\/a>.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s what else we\u2019re keeping tabs on today:<\/p>\n Economic data:<\/strong> India publishes April CPI inflation figures.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Chinese diplomacy:<\/strong> Brazilian President Luiz In\u00e1cio Lula da Silva is in Beijing for a state visit. Meanwhile Chinese vice-premier He Lifeng visits France, where he is scheduled to chair the China-France High Level Economic and Financial Dialogue.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Philippines:<\/strong> Relations with China loom<\/a> over today\u2019s national and local midterm elections. (Reuters)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n 1. A ceasefire agreement between India and Pakistan appeared to be holding yesterday,<\/strong> though each had earlier accused the other of violations and differed on what had been agreed. US President Donald Trump, who had claimed credit for the ceasefire, pledged to \u201cincrease trade, substantially, with both of these great Nations\u201d and \u201cwork with you both\u201d to find a solution to the Kashmir dispute. Read the full story<\/a>.<\/p>\n 2. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that he is ready to start peace talks with Vladimir Putin<\/strong> in Istanbul on Thursday, after Trump told him to meet the Russian president there \u201cimmediately\u201d. Zelenskyy\u2019s offer came after a back-and-forth<\/a> in which Ukraine called for Moscow to agree to a 30-day unconditional ceasefire starting Monday, to which Putin said the two sides should instead hold talks this week in Turkey. <\/p>\n 3. OpenAI and Microsoft are rewriting the terms of their multibillion-dollar partnership<\/strong> in a negotiation designed to allow the ChatGPT maker to launch a future initial public offering, while protecting the software giant\u2019s access to cutting-edge artificial intelligence models. Read more about the high-stakes talks<\/a>.<\/p>\n 4. Hamas said yesterday it would release an Israeli-American hostage held in Gaza as a goodwill gesture to Trump. <\/strong>The Palestinian militant group\u2019s move to release Edan Alexander comes as the US president prepares to visit the Middle East this week<\/a>.<\/p>\n 5. Colombia faces possible US trade retaliation after its leftwing President Gustavo Petro said he planned to sign up to Beijing\u2019s Belt and Road<\/strong> infrastructure initiative during a visit to China for a regional meeting next week. Colombia has long been one of Washington\u2019s most important South American allies, so a move by Bogot\u00e1 to join BRI would be a significant win for Beijing<\/a>.<\/p>\n India and Pakistan\u2019s skirmish last week, their most serious in decades, was also a testing ground for equipment crucial to a different rivalry<\/a>: that between China and the US-led western alliance. About 81 per cent of Pakistan\u2019s military equipment comes from China, while India has emerged as the world\u2019s largest weapons importer. Analysts said mounting evidence that a Pakistani pilot in a Chinese-made fighter jet shot down India\u2019s French-made aircraft \u201ccame as a pleasant surprise for China\u201d.<\/p>\n The UK-India trade deal agreed last week will halve tariffs on Scotch whisky into the world\u2019s biggest export market by volume for the spirit. With the loosening of trade barriers, analysts said exporters to India were now more likely to push pricier bottled Scotch<\/a> \u201cwhich could deliver long-term upsides\u201d. <\/p>\n Go inside the control room that monitors every subway train in New York<\/a>. Under pressure from the Trump administration, which has threatened to withhold federal funding for the transportation system, a dedicated band pulls the levers and pushes the buttons that keep the city moving.<\/p>\n\n
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