Xi and Modi Meet in Tianjin; Unrest in Jakarta; US Tariff Ruling
Sep 1, 2025
Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi meet to deepen cooperation amid economic tensions, highlighting resumed direct flights and stabilized ties. In Indonesia, protests erupt over lawmakers' high allowances, leading the government to promise firm action and eliminate perks. Meanwhile, Asian markets react to a U.S. court ruling against Trump's trade tariffs, sparking cautious investor sentiment as regional economic challenges loom large, particularly in Japan.
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insights INSIGHT
China Courting India Strategically
China is intensifying diplomatic outreach to India, courting Modi amid strategic autonomy and regional competition.
Resuming direct flights signals thawing ties after the 2020 border clashes and pandemic suspension.
question_answer ANECDOTE
Perks Sparked Deadly Protests In Indonesia
Nationwide protests erupted in Indonesia after lawmakers requested higher allowances amid economic strain.
A deadly incident involving a police vehicle intensified public outrage and forced parliament to scrap perks.
volunteer_activism ADVICE
Act Quickly To De-Escalate Unrest
Calm public sentiment quickly by removing controversial policies and signaling responsiveness.
Use clear interventions and threaten firm action only to restore order without escalating tensions.
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Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi held their first meeting since Donald Trump returned to power, with the longstanding Asian rivals pledging deeper cooperation as they deal with the economic fallout from the US trade war. Modi announced the resumption of direct flights between the two countries, and said ties in the past year have stabilized after soldiers pulled back from the friction points on the border. The two met at the port city of Tianjin on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit, a security-focused bloc co-founded by China. Bloomberg's Stephen Engle reports from Tianjin.
Meantime, Indonesia President Prabowo Subianto moved to quell widespread protests across the country with parliament removing hefty lawmaker allowances that had sparked public outrage, while warning that firm action will be taken against violent demonstrators. For more, we hear from Faris Mokhtar, Bloomberg's Southeast Asia Global Business Reporter. He speaks with Bloomberg's Shery Ahn and Avril Hong on The Asia Trade.
Asian investors may tread cautiously on Monday amid uncertainty following a US federal appeals court ruling that President Donald Trump's sweeping trade tariffs were illegal. Contracts for the S&P 500 rose 0.2% and those for the Nasdaq 100 index advanced 0.3% in early Asian trading after a selloff in technology shares Friday trimmed the gains for the month. Contracts indicated losses for Australian and Japanese shares at the open, and gains in Hong Kong. US bond futures nudged lower, with the cash market closed for the Labor Day holiday. We look at the market landscape with Ron Temple, Chief Market Strategist at Lazard.