FirstFT: Donald Trump extends inauguration invitation to Xi Jinping

Good morning and welcome back to FirstFT Asia. On the agenda today:

• Xi is on Trump’s inauguration invite list

• What else weight-loss drugs can be used for

• Concerns over Indonesia’s sovereign wealth fund

US president-elect Donald Trump invited President Xi Jinping to his January inauguration, in an early sign that he intends to resume high-level engagement with the Chinese leader in his second term.

Karoline Leavitt, the incoming White House press secretary, told Fox News yesterday that Trump wanted to create an “open dialogue” with countries that were American adversaries, not just with allies and partners.

“We saw this in his first term. He got a lot of criticism for it, but it led to peace around this world. He is willing to talk to anyone, and he will always put America’s interests first,” said Leavitt.

It was not clear if Xi would accept the invitation, which comes as Beijing is bracing for an escalation in the trade war that Trump launched in 2018. The US president-elect has already threatened to impose a 60 per cent tariff on imports from China — a big increase from the levies he imposed in his first term. Read the full story here.

• Related read: Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta has donated $1mn to Trump’s inauguration fund, its first such contribution.

Plus, here’s what I’ll be watching in the days ahead:

• G7 meeting: Leaders are set to hold a virtual meeting to discuss Ukraine and the Middle East on Friday.

• Westpac annual general meeting: The Australian Big Four bank updates shareholders today, ahead of Anthony Miller taking over as CEO next week.

• Nasa’s Lucy mission: A robotic spacecraft is due to make its second fly-past of Earth on its way to the Trojan asteroids that share Jupiter’s orbit.

• Syria’s border with Jordan opens: Syria’s border crossing with Jordan is set to reopen on Sunday, the country’s de facto finance minister told the FT.

Five more top stories

1. China’s Communist party has made “vigorous” efforts to boost domestic consumption the country’s top economic priority. At an annual meeting to set the country’s economic policy path for the coming year, President Xi Jinping and senior party leaders also pledged to increase the fiscal deficit and issue more “ultra-long” special bonds. Here’s what else we learnt from the keenly awaited conference.

2. HSBC is reviewing its retail banking operations outside the UK and Hong Kong, a move that could see it substantially scale back operations in some countries, as it seeks further cost cuts. Mexico is one of the markets under review.

3. The European Central Bank cut interest rates by a quarter-point to 3 per cent yesterday. The bank watered down its hawkish language and warned that growth would be weaker than it had previously forecast as it made its fourth reduction in borrowing costs since June. Deutsche Bank economist Mark Wall said the unanimous move opened the door to more cuts.

• More on the global economy: The IMF’s in-house watchdog has criticised the fund over a lack of consistency in some of its biggest bailouts and called on officials to address claims they succumb to political pressures.

4. The Australian government plans to introduce a “news tax” on social media companies and search engines to force them to pay publishers for journalism after Meta, the owner of Facebook and Instagram, walked away from an existing arrangement.

5. The Philippines is building a new UN case against China over alleged breaches of international law in the South China Sea. It is lobbying other countries to join as it struggles to counter Beijing’s assertive actions in the disputed waters.

How well did you keep up the news this week? Take our quiz.

The Big Read

Drugs such as Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro have helped transform the waistlines of patients and the top lines of pharmaceutical groups. But there is new evidence that these types of drugs could also be used as effective treatments for a startlingly wide range of conditions including addiction, heart disease and Alzheimer’s.

We’re also reading . . . 

• Dongnae: “The stew was so good I seriously considered giving up cleaning my teeth,” food critic Tim Hayward said of a new Korean restaurant in Bristol. Read his review.

• ‘Rugby diplomacy’: Australia will invest A$600mn ($385mn) to set up a rugby league team in Papua New Guinea as part of a newly inked bilateral security pact.

• David Bonderman: The lawyer turned private equity pioneer, who has died aged 82, was one of a class of swashbuckling financiers.

• Murdoch feud: A court ruling that rejected Rupert Murdoch’s attempt to overhaul the family trust has left him and his children in a bitter stalemate.

Chart of the day

Indonesia is poised to launch a sovereign wealth fund in the next few weeks, but a plan to place it under the control of President Prabowo Subianto has sparked concern among government officials and private sector stakeholders. This story details the proposed “super-holding” that risks being undermined by political interference.

Take a break from the news

Thai director Pat Boonnitipat joked to his grandmother that she’d earn a hefty cash bonus if his debut film, How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies, was a hit at the box office; he thought it would lose money. But the family drama has become a cultural supernova in Asia — one of the most successful Thai films ever.