Anti-Biden rebellion escalates ahead of Nato press conference

Good morning. Today we’re covering:

• An alleged Russian assassination plot

• A key economic policy meeting in China

• Ambani’s big rich Indian wedding

But first: more Democratic lawmakers yesterday called on Joe Biden to end his re-election campaign and let another candidate take on Donald Trump, just hours before the president was set to hold a highly anticipated press conference at the end of this week’s Nato summit.

The statements by at least four additional Democrats in the House of Representatives appeared to be timed to the end of the Nato gathering; party leaders had urged Democrats to refrain from undermining Biden while so many foreign leaders were in Washington.

The press conference is widely seen as a make-or-break moment for him. It comes as a crisis over Biden’s candidacy engulfs the Democratic party, and the White House and the president’s re-election campaign struggle to stem calls for him to step aside.

Follow the news conference live at FT.com.

• Go deeper: Joe Biden’s closest western allies will depart Washington unsure of the US’s commitment to Nato beyond January, after an alliance summit overshadowed by questions about whether the American president can continue his fight for re-election against Donald Trump.

And here’s what I’m keeping tabs on today and over the weekend:

• Economic data: China reports June trade balance figures and Singapore releases advance estimates for second-quarter GDP. India publishes consumer price data while the US reports produce price data.

• Japan-Germany relations: Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida visits Germany for talks with Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

• Sport: The Wimbledon tennis single’s finals are this weekend, with the women playing on Saturday and the men on Sunday. The finals matches for the Euro 2024 and Copa América men’s football tournaments will also be held on Sunday.

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

Five more top stories

1. Russia is believed to be behind a foiled plot to assassinate the head of Europe’s largest arms manufacturer over his company’s support for Ukraine, according to Nato diplomats. The diplomats said the alleged conspiracy against Armin Papperger, chief executive of Düsseldorf-based Rheinmetall, was being treated as part of Russia’s wider sabotage and hybrid attack campaign against European Nato states.

2. China has accused Nato of smearing the country and demanded the transatlantic alliance stay out of Asia. Beijing lashed out yesterday after Nato accused China of becoming a “decisive enabler” of Russia’s war against Ukraine.

3. Xiaohongshu, China’s fastest-growing social media platform, has gained the backing of venture capital firm DST Global. The investment is a rare example of foreign VC firms putting money into the Chinese tech sector, which they have largely shunned since a Beijing crackdown.

• More China news: Chinese authorities have opened an investigation into cooking oil shipments after a local media report alleged that fuel tankers had been used to carry edible oil without being cleaned, setting off the latest food safety scandal in the country.

4. Hong Kong’s CK Infrastructure Holdings, controlled by the family of the territory’s richest man Li Ka-shing, is considering a secondary listing on London’s stock market. The potential move is a “sign of confidence in the UK” in the wake of Labour’s election victory, said a person close to the group.

5. US inflation fell faster than forecast to 3 per cent in June, an encouraging sign for the Federal Reserve as it debates how quickly to cut rates from their 23-year high. Treasury yields dropped as traders increased their bets on two interest rate cuts this year.

News in-depth

Analysts have been scrutinising recent speeches by Xi Jinping and other Chinese leaders for signals of Beijing’s economic policy direction that could be unveiled at an important Communist party meeting next week. Some experts argue bold action is needed at the party’s third plenum to kick-start domestic demand and prevent the economy from falling into a deflationary spiral. But Beijing has played down hopes for “strong medicine”.

We’re also reading . . .

• Interview: India’s commerce minister is optimistic about striking a long-awaited trade deal with the UK’s new Labour government, but warned Britain not to place “a gun [to] our head” by imposing a deadline.

• The Big Read: Surging settler violence, military raids and economic pressure have undermined the credibility of the Palestinian Authority’s leadership in the West Bank.

• AI bubble: The investment boom triggered by the technology has been all too visible, writes Richard Waters, but it takes time for the technology to be put to productive use by customers.

Chart of the day

The world is set to have 200mn fewer people than previously expected by 2100, according to a UN report that highlights the dramatic impact of falling birth rates on the global population.

Take a break from the news

A pantheon of global celebrities, politicians and business leaders are descending on Mumbai for the wedding of the youngest son of Mukesh Ambani, Asia’s richest man. But the expected gridlock this weekend has elicited frustration from residents of the megacity. “It will be madness”, a person involved in planning the nuptials told the FT’s Chris Kay.