European shares flat as investors assess mixed earnings; focus on US-EU trade talks
The pan-European STOXX 600 index was down 0.01% at 546.97 points, as of 0719 GMT.
U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said on Sunday he was confident that Washington can secure a trade deal with the EU, but August 1 is a hard deadline for tariffs to kick in.
He added there is 'plenty of room' for a deal after speaking with European negotiators.
European basic resources gained 2.6%, the most among sectors, while automobile fell 0.3%.
Among stocks, Ryanair gained 5.8% and was one of the biggest percentage gainers in the STOXX 600, after Europe's largest low-cost carrier's net profit more than doubled in its April-June quarter.
Conversely, Stellantis fell 2.4% after the automaker said it expects a net loss of 2.3 billion euros ($2.68 billion) for the first half of 2025.
Also on Monday, the Chinese foreign ministry said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa will meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday.
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Iran blames EU for nuclear deal collapse
EU to impose new sanctions on Iran due to missile transfers to Russia. PHOTO: PIXABAY Tehran blamed European powers on Monday for the failure of a landmark 2015 nuclear deal, accusing them of breaking commitments ahead of renewed talks in Istanbul with Britain, France and Germany. The 2015 agreement -- reached between Iran and UN Security Council permanent members Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States, plus Germany -- imposed curbs on Iran's nuclear programme in exchange for sanctions relief. However, it unravelled in 2018 when the United States, during Donald Trump's first term as president, unilaterally withdrew and reimposed sweeping sanctions. Though Europe pledged continued support, a mechanism intended to offset US sanctions never effectively materialised, forcing many Western firms to exit Iran and deepening its economic crisis. "Iran holds the European parties responsible for negligence in implementing the agreement," said foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei ahead of Friday's talks in Istanbul with Britain, France and Germany on the deal's future. AFP
Express Tribune
3 hours ago
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Sino-Russian cooperation and the world order
"Beijing and Moscow should work to unite countries of global South and promote the development of the international order in a more just and reasonable direction," said Chinese President Xi Jinping during his conversation with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on the occasion of the SCO Foreign Ministers meeting in Tiangin, China last week. The two sides called for strengthening mutual support for multilateralism, stability and peace for a just global order, while countering the West-led order. According to an AI overview, "Sino-Russian strategic cooperation, particularly within the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), plays a crucial role in regional stability and development. Both nations view the SCO as a platform for enhancing their comprehensive strategic partnership and addressing common challenges. This cooperation extends to various fields including security, economics, and cultural exchange, with both countries actively working to strengthen the organization and ensure its success". Russian president Vladimir Putin is expected to visit China on the occasion of SCO summit to be held in August 2025 in which it is expected that the two global giants will examine in detail how to play a leadership role in the prevailing world order. US President Donald Trump has threatened to impose maximum tariff on Russia and provide military support to Ukraine through NATO. In the aftermath of the Iran-Israel war and West's unequivocal support to the Jewish state, it is expected that Moscow and Beijing will deepen their strategic cooperation under the platform of BRICS and SCO in order to provide an alternate leadership in world order. Majority of members of BRICS and SCO are supportive of the Sino-Russian strategic partnership and argue that if the two great powers remain united, an alternate to the US dollar and its biased trade policies may be agreed upon. How can the Sino-Russian strategic partnership help ensure peace, stability and multilateralism and why does the Trump administration perceive the leadership role of Moscow and Beijing in BRICS and SCO a major threat to its interests? Will Sino-Russian strategic partnership sustain in the post-Putin and post-XI era and how will the two powers reshape their role in providing an alternate world order once the leaderships of Putin and Xi are part of history? For decades China and the defunct USSR were adversaries but following the visit of Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev to Beijing in May 1989 and the collapse of the Soviet Union in December 1991, the two neighbours forged a new relationship based on strategic partnership while freezing their unresolved territorial issues. Certainly, the West had benefited from the Sino-Soviet rivalry, but the replacement of the Russia-China animosity with friendship and meaningful cooperation challenged the US-led unipolar world. Certainly, a multipolar world is the vision of Russia and China which is gradually transforming into a reality. Certainly, the US still dominates the world economic, military and technological order. With an economy of 28 trillion dollars and defence expenditures amounting to 900 billion dollars, America is still in a commanding position. Technologically also, the US is superior to Russia and China. But, with a huge debt of 37 trillion dollars, American economy is in dire straits. Russia, China and other ambitious powers want to take advantage of the US economic fault lines and its growing use of hard power, making it unpopular in different parts of the world. One can figure out three major aspects of the Sino-Russian strategic partnership in the world today. First, the success of China in focusing on its economy and the failure of Russia to disengage itself from conflicts in its neighbourhood, particularly the war with Ukraine. China's rise as the world's second largest economy was because of its focus on development and the application of soft power like diplomacy, aid, investments and trade instead of military involvement in its neighborhood. This is not the case with Russia which has its ambitions in former Soviet republics. Its occupation of Crimea in 2014 and attack on Ukraine in February 2022 not only led to worldwide condemnation but imposition of sanctions. The Russian economy also suffered heavily because of its war with Ukraine. President Trump who had a soft corner for Putin is now forced to take a hard stance on Russia's refusal to accept American plan for ending the Russia-Ukraine war. It means Russia is in dire straits and its efforts to widen its support base through BRICS and SCO cannot yield positive results. Second, China needs to convince the Russian president to reverse its policy of hard power and withdraw forces from Ukraine. If Russia is unable to listen to Beijing's advice, it would mean further deepening of Moscow's military and economic losses in its war with Ukraine. When one major power in BRICS and SCO is not at peace, how can the Sino-Russian strategic partnership strive for a multipolar world? Presently, India is not happy with the Trump administration over the manner in which it dealt with the May 7-10 armed conflict with Pakistan and took the credit for the ceasefire. For India it is the ideal opportunity to put its weight behind the Sino-Russian strategic partnership so as to exert maximum pressure on Washington. Iran is also supportive of a multipolar world because it has suffered the most at the hands of America over the last several decades. South Africa is against the blatant US support to Israel, and the manner in which the American President dealt with the South African President during his meeting at White House proves growing cleavage between South Africa and the Trump administration. Likewise, other members of BRICS and SCO are also not supportive of the perceived American hegemonic designs and subscribe to the Sino-Russian strategic partnership to break the US dominance in the prevailing world order. Finally, the forthcoming SCO summit in China provides a valuable opportunity for member countries to forge consensus on striving for a multipolar world. For that purpose, it is essential that contentious issues among SCO members are resolved through diplomacy. Notable in the context is the rivalry between India and Pakistan, the two nuclear-armed SCO members. Without bringing peace between the two, it will not be possible for Russia and China to transform the US-led world order.
Express Tribune
3 hours ago
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Chinese firms to retain 50% proceeds
Pakistan is exploring concrete steps to ensure Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's upcoming visit to China yields tangible results, with cabinet members urging resolution of longstanding issues hampering Chinese investment instead of merely signing more MoUs. To remove a major obstacle in relocating Chinese industries to the Gwadar Free Zone, the government has decided to allow Chinese firms operating there to retain 50% of their export earnings to settle dues, according to government sources. To ensure a productive visit, a ministerial committee has been formed to oversee planning, and called Pakistan's ambassador to Beijing, Khalil Hashmi, for further consultations. The committee has held several meetings thus far. Discussions are being held to assess whether hosting a Business Conference in Tianjin would help attract investment or if efforts should instead focus on addressing deeper concerns that have discouraged Chinese private sector participation over the past decade. PM Sharif will be visiting China to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation's Heads of State Council meeting at the end of August. Pakistan's embassy has proposed a Business Conference on September 2, but some officials believe it may not help achieve the desired results. One of the main hurdles in populating the Gwadar Free Zone has been facilitation of foreign currency operations. The issue has been discussed at various levels, including twice in the Cabinet Committee on Chinese Investment in Pakistan (CCoCIP). In March, the CCoCIP directed the finance, commerce, industries ministries, the Board of Investment, and the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) to implement a foreign currency facilitation pilot in Gwadar. Sources confirmed that the short-term solution now agreed upon is to let companies retain half of their export proceeds. Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal confirmed this to The Express Tribune. "For the short term, companies in Gwadar Free Zone can retain up to 50% of their export proceeds in Special Foreign Currency Accounts," said Iqbal. "These funds can be freely used for payments abroad of a current account nature, without prior SBP approval." However, Iqbal stressed that for long-term facilitation, the Gwadar Port Authority law will have to be aligned with other laws. As per sources, the SBP has maintained that legal changes are necessary for broader foreign currency use. It has recommended bringing Gwadar Free Zone in line with Export Processing Zones by amending the Gwadar Port Authority Act to waive relevant sections of the 1947 Foreign Exchange Regulation Act. Until then, the 50% retention policy will remain in place. Another issue highlighted by the sources remains the consistent provision of electricity and water to Gwadar, which has lingered for nearly a decade. Pakistan aims to attract Chinese industries seeking to relocate amid the China-US trade war, officials said. To address power issues, the cabinet committee directed the energy ministry to coordinate with the Pakistan Navy to ensure interim electricity supply to Gwadar's desalination plant from the naval grid. It also instructed the Power Division to fast-track revisions in electricity supply for Rashakai Special Economic Zone (SEZ) and submit a progress report to the CCoCIP. The ministerial committee's discussions have revolved around facilitating industrial relocation and evaluating the value of the proposed business conference. Another meeting of the committee was held Monday. The committee is co-chaired by SAPM on Industry Haroon Akhtar Khan and Commerce Minister Jam Kamal Khan, with Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal and the national coordinator of the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) also on board. Its mandate includes reviewing progress on agreements and MoUs signed during Sharif's 2023 China visit and subsequent roadshows. Sources said that during one of the meetings, Pakistan's ambassador briefed members on the rationale behind the proposed business conference. He shared that in the previous event, about 150 MoUs were signed and 1,000 B2B meetings took place. However, some committee members expressed concern that the MoUs never materialised into real investments. According to sources, one co-convener told the committee that the prime minister is just not interested in signing more MoUs. Cabinet members also discussed ongoing real investor concerns, including inconsistent policies, difficulty in profit repatriation, exchange rate volatility, and security issues. To address these, it was suggested that Pakistan offer China ready-to-operate industrial zones and SEZs with long-term land leases. It was also recommended that electricity be provided at regionally competitive rates. The SIFC has requested concrete suggestions from the Pakistani embassy in Beijing to make the business conference more impactful. The embassy has proposed exploring cooperation under government-to-government, government-to-business, and B2B models. The committee will also engage with Chinese business representatives to understand their needs and expectations, and identify ways to facilitate project-based investment, new industry development, and the relocation of Chinese production units. In coordination with provincial authorities, the committee will recommend legal facilitation measures and identify steps to remove bottlenecks to Chinese investment. The committee will also monitor the finalisation of a sector-specific investment "pitch book." Key sectors where Pakistan is seeking Chinese investment include chemicals, petrochemicals, iron and steel, copper, electric vehicles, auto parts, solar panel manufacturing, power storage, software development, ICT, and food processing.
