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National

Chinese President Xi Jinping is signaling solidarity with his "dear friend" Vladimir Putin this week in Moscow — a visit that also underscores Russia's reliance on China to keep its economy and war machine running.

Why it matters: China has helped shield Russia from Western efforts to isolate it following the invasion of Ukraine, significantly increased imports of Russian oil, and become an even more crucial source for Russia of key inputs like microchips.

The visit follows warnings from Washington that Xi might start backing the Russian war effort with weapons — claims Beijing denies.

Thus far, China has not openly breached Western sanctions or provided arms to Russia. In fact, Beijing is attempting to position itself as a mediator.

Putin said Monday that he looks forward to discussing Xi's recent peace proposal in detail.

Putin also thanked Xi in an article published in Chinese state media for understanding the "true causes" of the conflict. Chinese officials and state media have echoed Putin's arguments that NATO is to blame.

More recently, Beijing condemned the “double standards” at the International Criminal Court after it issued a warrant for Putin’s arrest on Friday.

Between the lines: Xi's pseudo-neutrality can be summed up by his itinerary this week: a three-day state visit with Putin; a planned phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

A European official recently told reporters in Washington that one potential "nightmare" scenario is that the military balance of the war shifts toward Russia, Western influence diminishes, and Chinese mediation starts to seem far more plausible.

The big picture: While Xi may consider Putin his “best friend,” he has more practical reasons for aligning with Moscow.

Russia remains a key source of oil, arms and military technology for China. It’s also an ideological ally for China in its rivalry with the U.S., with a seat on the UN Security Council, says Alexander Gabuev, an expert on the Russia-China relationship at the Carnegie Endowment.

In an article of his own published Monday in the Russian press, Xi called for cooperation to confront “damaging acts of hegemony, domination and bullying.”

Chinese leaders often make Moscow the first trip of a new term, but Xi’s decision to opt for a full state visit “is a statement that ‘we will stand by Russia,’” Gabuev says.

Between the lines: Expect three days of handshakes, smiles, pomp and circumstance in Moscow, at least in public. Dinner tonight was a seven-course affair featuring quail blinis, Siberian salmon, venison in cherry sauce and wine from Russia's Black Sea coast, according to menus posted on Twitter.

But the balance of power between the neighbors has flipped since the Soviet era, particularly since the invasion. Trade with China now accounts for more than 30% of Russia’s total imports and exports, but just 3% of China’s. That gives Xi a lot of leverage with his giant neighbor.

“Continuing the war for Putin is more important than any attempt to keep balance or strategic autonomy,” Gabuev says. “Since the war is the organizing principle of Russian foreign policy now, whoever gives you the ability to continue is your best friend.”

What Putin and Xi each get out of their "friendship"

Xi Jinping is visiting his "dear friend" at a very difficult time.

Xi meets Putin at the Kremlin on Monday. Photo: Sergei Karpukhin/Sputnik via Getty Images

China

World

President Biden on Monday vetoed a bill that would have repealed a Department of Labor rule allowing retirement fund managers to consider environment, social and governance (ESG) principles in their investment decisions.

Why it matters: It was Biden's first use of the veto since becoming president, though several more may be on the way with Congress on track to pass other pieces of legislation the White House opposes.

The House has scheduled a veto override vote on the legislation on Thursday.

Between the lines: Two vulnerable Senate Democrats up for re-election in 2024 — Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Jon Tester (D-Mont.) — broke with the White House earlier this month and joined Republicans in passing a House bill that would strike down the Labor Department's rule.

In order for the bill to become law, both chambers of Congress must pass it again with at least two-thirds of each body voting in favor.

What they're saying: Biden said on Monday he vetoed the legislation because "it would put at risk retirement savings of individuals across the country."

"They couldn't take into consideration investments that would be impacted by climate, impacted by overpaying executives. And that's' why I decided to veto it. It makes sense to veto it," he added.

"The President vetoed the bill because it jeopardizes the hard-earned life savings of cops, firefighters, teachers, and other workers – all in service of an extreme, MAGA Republican ideology," White House spokesperson Robyn Patterson said in a statement on Monday.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy claimed on Monday that Biden, by vetoing the bill, "sided with woke Wall Street over workers."

"Now—despite a bipartisan vote to block his ESG agenda—it’s clear Biden wants Wall Street to use your retirement savings to fund his far-left political causes," McCarthy said.

The big picture: The Labor Department rule doesn't require fiduciaries for private companies to do anything, but it does permit them to include ESG considerations in investment decisions.

Supporters of the ESG framework say it allows investors to support companies that are attempting to manage risks related to environmental, social, and governance criteria, such as the financial and economic risk posed by climate change.

Anti-ESG sentiment runs hot throughout the Republican Party in general, Axios' Hans Nichols reports. Conservative groups have derided it as "woke capitalism" and have set out to dismantle it.

Go deeper: Investors get caught in political crossfire in ESG fight

Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional reporting.

financial and economic risk posed by climate change

Investors get caught in political crossfire in ESG fight

Biden issues first veto of his presidency

Conservative groups have derided ESG as "woke capitalism" and have set out to dismantle it.

President Biden speaking in Baltimore on March 1. Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Joe Biden

2024 will be an election year like no other, as President Biden seeks re-election amid economic uncertainty, two wars and questions about his age. His likely foe, former President Trump, faces felony charges and vows revenge on his political enemies. Meanwhile, Americans generally are dissatisfied with those choices and are divided over immigration, race, education and more.

Politics & Policy

Lawyers for former President Donald Trump in new court filing Monday asked to "quash" an Atlanta special grand jury probe investigating efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

Why it matters: This marks the strongest involvement yet of Trump's defense attorneys in the grand jury's high-profile investigation — as the former president and 2024 GOP candidate faces multiple other criminal probes and a potential indictment.

The attorneys argued the proceedings "violated all notions of fundamental fairness and due process."

They're also seeking to disqualify Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and invalidate all evidence gathered as "unconstitutionally derived."

A spokesperson for Willis declined to comment.

Zoom in: Trump's lawyers argue the grand jury was conducted in a process that was "confusing, flawed and at-times, blatantly unconstitutional." They say the proceedings "failed to protect the most basic procedural and substantive constitutional rights of all individuals discussed by this investigative body."

Among other points, the lawyers took issue with the vague code section governing special purpose grand juries in Georgia, which do not have the power to indict but to investigate and subpoena.

They take issue with extensive media interviews done by the grand jury foreperson Emily Kohrs, Willis and supervising judge Robert McBurney.

And they take issue with the fact that Willis was disqualified from investigating one target, Republican Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, for campaigning for his one-time opponent.

Catch up quick: Willis called for an investigative grand jury to look into alleged election interference by Trump and his allies last year. The "special purpose grand jury" spent months hearing from dozens of witnesses ranging from Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) to Rudy Giuliani to Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp. 

Yes, but: The jury never called on Trump to testify voluntarily or through subpoena. 

State of play: The jurors finished their work earlier this year and voted to publish the report, according to McBurney. He opted to release part of report but none of the indictment recommendations. 

Willis earlier this year said her office's decisions about indictments were "imminent." 

What's next: Trump's legal team requested a hearing on the matter — before a judge other than McBurney. 

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Trump aims to "quash" Georgia election grand jury probe on 2020 election

This marks the strongest involvement yet of Trump's defense attorneys in the grand jury's investigation.

Donald Trump greets spectators during the Division I Mens Wrestling Championship in Oklahoma this month. Photo: Shane Bevel/NCAA Photos via Getty Images

Donald Trump

A stark new U.N. climate change report warns that humanity stands at the precipice of a more dangerous world, but says it has the tools needed to pull back from the brink.

Driving the news: The final installment of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's (IPCC) sixth assessment report amounts to scientists's final warning issued when the world still has a chance to limit global warming's severity to the Paris Agreement's targets.

By the time the next IPCC assessment report is issued in five to seven years, the report suggests that human actions may have rendered the Paris Agreement's 1.5°C target, and possibly even its 2°C benchmark, infeasible.

"There is a rapidly closing window of opportunity to secure a livable and sustainable future for all," the report's summary for policy makers states. 

"The choices and actions implemented in this decade will have impacts now and for thousands of years."

Current climate actions are taking place too slowly, the report shows. "We are walking when we should be sprinting," said IPCC chair Hoesung Lee at a Monday press conference. 

The intrigue: UN Secretary-General António Guterres is responding to the report's urgency by calling for industrialized countries to move up their net zero emissions targets from 2050 to "as close as possible to 2040."

"The climate time-bomb is ticking," Guterres said in a video message.

The big picture: The new report includes a litany of indications that climate change is already severe and causing human suffering. 

It marks a noteworthy tense shift from previous IPCC assessments, which tended to portray deadly climate risks as problems to be revealed during coming decades. 

Not only are deadly extreme weather events, bleaching coral reefs, rising sea levels and other risks a present-day problem, the report notes, but multiple lines of evidence now indicate that dangerous climate impacts are worsening faster than previously known.

The report's summary was jointly agreed to word-by-word by climate scientists and government representatives during a painstaking week of negotiations in Switzerland that ended Sunday. It was written by 93 scientists from around the world. 

Between the lines: The authors provide a new target for governments to aim for: cutting emissions 60% by 2035 compared to 2019 levels in order to have a chance of meeting the 1.5-degree target. 

This is significant since 2035 is the target date for the next round of emissions reduction pledges countries are supposed to offer by next year. 

The report takes note of the rapidly falling costs of renewable energy sources and the availability of myriad other climate solutions as well. 

"Rapid and far-reaching transitions across all sectors and systems are necessary to achieve deep and sustained emissions reductions," the report states.

It adds to calls for reforming the financial system to direct more money to climate-resilient development and low-carbon energy sources. "Insufficient and misaligned finance is holding back progress," report coauthor Christopher Trisos said in a statement.

Of note: The UN's Guterres, in a video message welcoming the report, presented an "acceleration agenda" that includes moving to net zero electricity for all developed economies by 2035, ceasing "all licensing or funding of new oil and gas," and halting the expansion of existing oil and gas reserves. 

Under Guterres' proposal, oil and gas companies would also be asked to present rigorous plans for transitioning away from the fossil fuel business in favor of renewable energy. 

"We must move into warp speed climate action now," Guterres said in prepared remarks.

Yes, but: As the oil and gas industry made clear at an annual major energy industry conference in Houston earlier this month, major companies have no plans to move more aggressively on their fossil fuel transition plans. 

major companies are planning to slow down slightly

UN report: Window for limiting global warming is closing

The report warns that the window for meaningful action is closing, but details climate solutions.

Illustration of a close up view of the Earth stylized as a bomb with an extremely short lit fuse. Sparks are flying everywhere.  

Climate change

High voltage electricity transmission towers and steam cooling towards at a coal-fired power plant in Germany. (Photo: Krisztian Bocsi/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Breaking climate science and policy coverage as extreme weather events reshape communities. Keep tabs on the race to a low carbon economy, which may be bumpy as governments, climate tech startups and major oil and gas companies race to find their niche amid the changing energy landscape.

Energy & Climate

News and analysis of the scientific advances fueling AI and quantum computing, revolutionizing biology and medicine, and tackling climate change. Science is changing the world and colliding with the global politics that shape it.

Science

The FDIC guarantees bank deposits of up to $250,000 — a figure most of us weren't thinking all that much about until a week ago, when regulators guaranteed all customer deposits, even those above a quarter-million dollars, at two failed banks.

Why some argue it's time to raise the FDIC deposit cap

As it stands, things are murky: The cap exists, but it could be waived for banks that seem important enough

Axios

Monday's top stories

What Putin and Xi each get out of their "friendship"

Biden issues first veto of his presidency

Trump aims to "quash" Georgia election grand jury probe on 2020 election

UN report: Window for limiting global warming is closing

Why some argue it's time to raise the FDIC deposit cap

UBS-Credit Suisse deal shows that shareholders are no longer in charge

Inside Trump's campaign makeover for 2024

America becomes numb to tragedy

White House sounds alarm on Freedom Caucus' budget plan

More medical school grads are bypassing ERs

Tech industry builds in the ruins again

Report: People happier during pandemic due to kindness

New York Community Bancorp to take over failed Signature Bank