European military powers discuss plans to replace US in Nato

Good morning and happy Friday. On today’s agenda:

• Trump penalises Chinese groups over Iran ties

• Foxconn closes in on EV production contract

• How Jeff Bezos made peace with Maga

Europe’s biggest military powers are drawing up plans to take on greater responsibilities for the continent’s defence from the US, including a pitch to the Trump administration for a managed transfer over the next five to 10 years.

The discussions are an attempt to avoid the chaos of a unilateral US withdrawal from Nato, a fear sparked by President Donald Trump’s repeated threats to weaken or walk away from the transatlantic alliance that has protected Europe for almost eight decades.

The US spends more on defence than all other Nato allies combined — and is critical to European security.

The UK, France, Germany and the Nordics are among the countries engaged in the informal but structured discussions, according to four European officials involved. Their aim is to come up with a plan to shift the financial and military burden to European capitals and present it to the US ahead of Nato’s annual leaders’ summit in The Hague in June.

“Increasing spending is the only play that we have: burden sharing and shifting the dial away from US reliance,” said one of the officials. “We’re starting those talks but it’s such a big task that many are overwhelmed by the scale of it.” Here are more details about the discussions.

And here’s what else we’re keeping tabs on today and over the weekend:

• Economic data: Japan, South Korea and Malaysia report February inflation data.

• Sport: Indian Premier League cricket begins on Saturday. The F1 Chinese Grand Prix takes place on Sunday.

• China Development Forum: Global business leaders will visit Beijing for the flagship conference, which begins on Sunday.

How well did you keep up with the news this week? Take our quiz.

Five more top stories

1. The US has imposed sanctions on two Chinese companies for allegedly importing Iranian crude oil. The move is the latest salvo of Trump’s “maximum pressure” campaign to push the Islamic republic to reach a deal with Washington on its nuclear programme. Read more about the US’s concerns about China-Iran ties.

2. Taiwan’s Foxconn is close to securing a contract with Mitsubishi Motors to manufacture electric vehicles for the Japanese automaker. The agreement would be a coup for iPhone supplier Foxconn, which has been trying to break into EV production since 2019. Here’s what we know about the potential deal.

3. Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison has announced bumper profits from its ports operations as the conglomerate faced criticism from Beijing for a $22.8bn deal with US asset manager BlackRock for most of the business.
The group is selling 43 of its 53 ports, including two at the Panama Canal, to a BlackRock-led consortium. The sale follows criticism by Trump of alleged Chinese influence over the waterway.

4. SoftBank has agreed to acquire US chip start-up Ampere Computing for $6.5bn. The deal is the latest big move by the Japanese tech group’s founder Masayoshi Son, who has said SoftBank will build a vast infrastructure for AI. Here’s how Ampere fits into SoftBank’s plans.

5. Mark Carney, Canada’s new prime minister, is on Sunday expected to call a federal election for April 28. Carney will announce the poll less than two weeks after replacing Justin Trudeau as head of Canada’s Liberal party, which has seen its popularity soar in response to threats of annexation and punitive tariffs from Trump. Here’s what the polls show about the race.

The Big Read

In the past year Jeff Bezos, the Amazon founder and owner of the Washington Post as well as rocket maker Blue Origin, has executed a sharp public reversal in his relationship with President Donald Trump that has surprised even longtime associates. How did the world’s second-richest person make up with Maga?

We’re also reading . . . 

• Humanoid robots: Richard Waters explains why the fantasy of AI-powered robots misses the point.

• Turkish politics: The arrest of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s main rival marks a dangerous turning point in the country’s authoritarian slide, say politicians and investors.

• Record-breaking sports deal: A consortium led by a private equity investor agreed to take a majority stake in the Boston Celtics basketball franchise at a $6.1bn valuation.

Chart of the day

Beijing is boosting state support for domestic minerals exploration as President Xi Jinping pushes for resource self-sufficiency amid intensifying competition with the US. China is the world’s biggest producer of 30 of 44 critical minerals tracked by the US Geological Survey. 

Take a break from the news . . . 

Here are our six films to watch this week — including Santosh, a morally fraught portrait of an Indian policewoman. Don’t miss our interview with Sandhya Suri, the film’s British-born director, who spoke about bringing an outsider’s eye to her debut feature.