China’s president Xi Jinping will pay a state visit to his Russian counterpart starting on Monday in a move that will reaffirm the two leaders’ strong ties despite western opposition to Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
China’s foreign ministry confirmed the dates for the three-day visit, which Moscow had first flagged earlier this year.The Kremlin said Vladimir Putin and Xi would discuss “issues of developing relations of all-encompassing partnership and strategic interaction between Russia and China” and will sign “important bilateral documents”.
At least one person familiar with the matter in Beijing said Xi might conduct a video conference with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy. But China has yet to confirm such a plan.Unite’s strike ballot closes for more than 3,000 security guards, engineers and firefighters employed by Heathrow Airports.UK politics: The UK’s Liberal Democrat party’s spring conference opens in York.
Moscow: Russia’s central bank hosts a monetary policy rate-setting meeting. It raised its interest rate to a five-year high of 9.5 per cent in February.Economic data: The EU releases its harmonised consumer price index for February. The OECD releases its economic outlook report on the near-term prospects for the global economy. The Bank of England and Ipsos publish a survey on public attitudes to inflation.
The chief executive of Tata Consultancy Services has resigned, the Indian IT outsourcer said late on Thursday.Six-year chief executive Rajesh Gopinathan “has decided to step down from the company to pursue his other interests”, India’s second-biggest company by market valuation said in a press release.TCS has appointed company veteran K. “Krithi” Krithivasan as Gopinathan’s successor. Gopinathan will stay on until mid-September to ease the transition.
Krithivasan currently heads TCS’ banking and financial services business, an important focus area for the IT behemoth as it pursues growth against the backdrop of expected global economic jitters.Oil extended gains on Friday as investors grew confident the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank would not spread to other sectors and reacted to reports of a meeting between Russia and Saudi Arabia.
Brent crude, the international benchmark, rose 1.1 per cent to trade at $75.49 per barrel, while US marker West Texas Intermediate added 1.1 per cent to hit $69.12.Brent reached its lowest level in more than a year on Wednesday on concerns over turmoil in the banking sector but began to recover on Thursday after reports that Russian and Saudi Arabian officials met to discuss stabilising the market.
