Chinese President Xi Jinping urged G20 leaders Monday to support efforts to de-escalate the war in Ukraine and reach a “political solution,” state media reported.His remarks at the G20 summit in Brazil come shortly after Ukraine received a US green light to launch long-range missiles provided by Washington against targets inside Russia.”The G20 should support the United Nations and its Security Council in playing a greater role, and support all efforts conducive to the peaceful settlement of crises,” Xi said, according to Chinese state broadcaster CCTV.He called for leaders to avoid “spillovers” from battlefields and escalation of fighting, and to help “cool the Ukraine crisis and seek a political solution.”War in Ukraine continues to rage since Russia’s invasion in 2022.China presents itself as a neutral party in the war and says it is not sending lethal assistance to either side, unlike the United States and other Western nations.But it remains a close political and economic ally of Russia. NATO members have branded Beijing a “decisive enabler” of the war, which it has never condemned.Following the long-range missile policy shift by US President Joe Biden, who leaves office in January, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Monday his country was sending Ukraine 4,000 AI-guided drones.Xi, in his speech Monday, also called for efforts to shore up multilateral trade systems and warned against “politicizing economic issues” without naming any specific countries.His comments come before US President-elect Donald Trump reenters the White House in January, after campaigning on pledges to enact sweeping tariffs on China and others.Washington also unveiled sharp tariff hikes this year on Chinese goods, notably on products like electric vehicle batteries and solar cells, as the United States tries to grow its domestic clean energy sectors.”We must avoid politicizing economic issues, artificially dividing the global market, and avoid practicing protectionism in the name of green and low-carbon development,” Xi said.In seeking cooperation on artificial intelligence, he added that this should not become “a game of rich countries and the wealthy.”Xi called for “all sides to stop fighting” in Gaza as well, saying the war between Israel and Hamas has “brought heavy suffering,” CCTV reported.

Global markets were mixed on Monday as traders largely treaded water after a busy period that saw a post-election “explosion” in enthusiasm in the United States, followed by a pullback last week. Focus also turned to chip behemoth Nvidia ahead of its quarterly earnings on Wednesday, which could indicate prospects for the entire tech sector. Wall Street’s three major indices finished mixed, with the Dow edging lower, and the S&P and the Nasdaq closing slightly higher, as few investors were willing to take new positions ahead of Nvidia’s results.It was “a relatively unremarkable day, in terms of magnitude of move,” Art Hogan from B. Riley Wealth Management told AFP. This was “not surprising,” he added, pointing to the post-election market “explosion,” and the subsequent drawback last week. “We kind of entered the new week at a midpoint with very little economic data,” he said. European markets tracked their losses on Monday, while Asian markets were mixed. – Rising trade tensions -Expectations that a second Trump administration will impose painful fresh tariffs on Chinese goods have added to the unease and ramped up fears of another trade war between the economic powerhouses.”It is likely that if Trump does proceed with tariffs on Chinese goods, they will respond aggressively,” said Kathleen Brooks, research director at traders XTB.In Europe, the vice president of the European Central Bank said Monday that Trump’s spending plans risked inflating the US government’s budgetary deficit and spreading worries on markets. “Trade tensions could rise further,” with resulting risks for economic activity, Luis de Guindos noted.Investor focus this week will also be on the release of purchasing managers’ index data for signals about the health of business activity in the eurozone, Britain and the United States.Friday’s PMI data “may capture some of the initial sentiment impact from around the world regarding Trump’s victory,” said Jim Reid, economist at Deutsche Bank.”Europe will be especially interesting on this front as the continent awaits their trade fate,” he added.In Asia on Monday, Tokyo and Shanghai stock markets closed lower while Hong Kong rose, helped by hopes of more Chinese stimulus after a recent raft of measures.Bitcoin sat at around $91,000, having hit another record high of $93,462 last week on hopes Trump will push for more deregulation of the crypto market. And crude oil prices jumped after production stopped at a key Norwegian field in the North Sea, Sverdrup, due to an electrical supply disruption.- Key figures around 2130 GMT -New York – Dow: DOWN 0.1 percent at 43,389. points (close) New York – S&P 500: UP 0.4 percent at 5,893.62 (close) New York – Nasdaq: UP 0.6 percent at 18,791.81 (close) London – FTSE 100: UP 0.6 percent at 8,109.32 (close)Paris – CAC 40: UP 0.1 percent at 7,278.23 (close)Frankfurt – DAX: DOWN 0.1 percent at 19,189.19 (close)Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 1.1 percent at 38,220.85 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 0.8 percent at 19,576.61 (close)Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 0.2 percent at 3,323.85 (close)Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0600 from $1.0536 on FridayPound/dollar: UP at $1.2678 from $1.2611Dollar/yen: UP at 155.04 yen from 154.32 yenEuro/pound: UP at 83.57 pence from 83.52 penceBrent North Sea Crude: UP 3.2 percent at $73.30 per barrelWest Texas Intermediate: UP 3.2 percent at $69.16 per barrel