National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan met China's President Xi Jinping on Thursday, wrapping up a three-day visit to Beijing aimed at improving fraught relations between the two world powers as the US moves towards elections in November.
The officials discussed anti-drug efforts, military communications and artificial intelligence safety and risk, the White House said. They also discussed regional issues including the South China Sea, as well as the Russia-Ukraine war.
"Among other issues of global concern, we discussed the recent efforts to reach a ceasefire and hostage release deal in Gaza," Mr Sullivan said during a news conference.
In a readout of the meeting, the White House said it "was part of ongoing efforts to maintain channels of communication and responsibly manage the relationship between the United States and the PRC [People's Republic of China]".
On Wednesday, Mr Sullivan met Gen Zhang Youxia, vice chairman of China's Central Military Commission, to discuss communication between the two militaries.
The visit comes as President Joe Biden enters his last few months in office, with the US set to hold elections on November 5 in a race between Vice President Kamala Harris and former president Donald Trump.
Mr Sullivan touted Ms Harris’s foreign policy credentials during the visit and said she would follow Mr Biden's path when it comes to China.
“Vice President Harris has been a central member of the Biden foreign policy team, a leading member and has been part of the design and execution of the overall strategy in the Indo-Pacific with the respect to the responsible management of US-China relations,” Mr Sullivan said on Thursday.
During her speech capping the Democratic National Convention last week, Ms Harris promised to take a firm line with Beijing.
“I will make sure that we lead the world into the future on space and artificial intelligence, that America, not China, wins the competition for the 21st century and that we strengthen, not abdicate, our global leadership,” she said.
Since taking office in 2021, Mr Biden has pursued direct diplomacy with China as a way to ease tension. His predecessor, Mr Trump, who advanced and “America first” foreign policy, said a tougher approach was needed on China's assertive economic and foreign policies.
The US and China have been competing for global economic and political influence for years, and the two superpowers are at odds over a number of global issues, including Beijing's territorial claims in the South China Sea and its support for Russia's war in Ukraine. In China, the world's second-largest economy, there is also a high level of economic tension over issues such as electronic vehicle sales and chip manufacturing.
While Mr Biden has sought to manage that competition, Mr Trump has vowed to directly confront China, including promising to impose 60 per cent tariffs on Chinese-made imports.
Mr Biden in May increased tariffs on Chinese-made EVs from 25 per cent to 100 per cent to offset what he called Beijing's unfair practices and level the playing field for US car makers.
Mr Xi and Mr Biden met in November during a major summit in California, where the two leaders agreed to resume military-to-military communications and work to curb the production of fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that is the leading cause of drug overdoses in the US.
The White House on Thursday said Mr Biden and Mr Xi would be holding a call in the coming weeks.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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