Xi on youth in China

• Speaking on the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Youth League of China (CYLC), President Xi Jinping called for (Ch) cultivating a large group of “frank-minded, loyal, active, righteous,” and selfless pioneers with political foresight and the spirit of struggle and sacrifice, citing a 1937 inscription by Chairman Mao Zedong.

Biden talks about inflation

• U.S. President Joe Biden made remarks on the economy on Tuesday, vowing to tame the rising inflation. Biden identified the pandemic and the Ukraine crisis as two leading causes of the price surge. He also aggressively criticized Republicans for their “Ultra-MAGA Agenda,” saying, “They [the Republicans] don’t want to solve inflation by lowering your costs. They want to solve it by raising your taxes and lowering your income.”

• Asked whether he would drop the Trump-era tariffs on China, the President said his team was discussing that but emphasized they had not reached any conclusion.

China to further marketize interest rates

• In its latest quarterly report (En/Ch) on the Chinese monetary policy, the People’s Bank of China (PBOC), for the first time, disclosed a “market-oriented adjustment mechanism of the deposit interest rates” (存款利率市场化调整机制), which was established in April. The report showed that real interest rates in the country have significantly lowered since the 2019 reform (Ch) of the loan prime rate (LPR).

Xi speaks with Macron

• After talking with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Monday, Chinese President Xi Jinping had a call with French President Emmanuel Macron yesterday. Xi said China “supports” European countries “keeping the security of Europe in their own hands” and warned against “bloc-to-bloc confrontation.” In Monday’s meeting with Scholz and the April 1 summit with the EU, President Xi delivered similar messages, suggesting Europe be independent in political and security decisions.