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China pledges greater cooperation with foreign companies

Dion Rabouin, author of Markets

China's Vice Premier Wang Yang (Left), President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang applaud after the foreign investment law was passed during the closing session of the National People's Congress. Photo: Greg Baker/AFP/Getty Images

Chinese officials completed the 2019 National People's Congress on Thursday night. Notably, lawmakers passed a bill to eliminate the requirement that foreign companies transfer proprietary technology to Chinese partners and said it will protect against "illegal government interference."

The big picture: The body also pledged greater cooperation with American and European companies on Belt and Road initiatives.

Over the course of the policy meeting lawmakers passed several proposals:

  • Cut this year's growth target to 6% — 6.5% from "around 6.5%."
  • Increased tax and fee reduction to 2 trillion yuan (about $298 billion) for 2019, from 1.3 trillion yuan in 2018.
  • Pledged more bond issuance by local governments to support higher fiscal spending.
  • Announced China will not give up on "structural deleveraging" and will strive to keep total deleveraging "broadly stable."

Go deeper: Competitors worry that China is using Belt and Road for political gain

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Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, cautioned on Sunday that the COVID-19 Omicron variant will "inevitably" be found in the United States.

Driving the news: Fauci, Biden's chief medical adviser, told ABC's George Stephanopoulos on "This Week" that U.S. officials will meet with colleagues from South Africa later on Sunday to try to determine the severity of the cases, as countries scramble to learn more about the variant.

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Why it matters: With their party controlling both the White House and Capitol, vulnerable Democrats worry supply-chain snafus will hurt them in next year's midterms.

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Scoop: Germany urges Congress not to sanction Putin’s pipeline

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Why it matters: At a time when roughly 100,000 Russian troops are massing at its border, Ukraine views Nord Stream 2 as an existential threat to its security. The pipeline would circumvent Ukrainian transit infrastructure and deliver Russian gas directly to Germany, eliminating one of the last deterrents Ukraine has against an invasion.

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