Jared Kushner, who is leading the White House "peace team," said at the TIME 100 conference in New York Tuesday that President Trump's peace plan will require “tough compromises” from both the Israelis and the Palestinians.
Why it matters: Kushner said the White House will start laying out the plan in June, after the Muslim month of Ramadan. The officials leading the White House effort have begun to speak more publicly about the plan, but still aren’t offering any details.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that he will bring to his government a vote on a resolution to name one of the villages or communities in the Golan Heights after President Trump as a token of appreciation for him recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the contested area.
The big picture: Netanyahu gave the statement during a family vacation in the Golan Heights. Netanyahu sees the U.S. recognition of the Golan Heights as one of his main foreign policy achievements and a precedent that might signal U.S. support for annexing parts of the West Bank.
The White House is trying to thread a needle: Tighten oil sanctions against Iran without raising energy prices enough to erode the president's political standing.
Driving the news: ICYMI, the administration isn't renewing sanctions waivers beyond early May for countries that still buy Iranian oil.
Chinese President Xi Jinping is expecting upwards of 40 world leaders to join him in Beijing later this week for the second international gathering on the Belt and Road Initiative — China's plan to build a massive network of ports, roads and railways across some 65 countries.
Why it matters: Belt and Road is just one element of China's plan to supplant the U.S. as the dominant global superpower within the next three decades. By the time Beijing's ambitions were widely understood in Washington, China’s success had already begun to feel inevitable.
There are upwards of 1 million Uighur Muslims detained in China's Xinjiang region — yet the leaders of Pakistan, Indonesia and, most recently, Volkswagen (which has a factory in Xinjiang) claim they don't know anything about it.
Between the lines: "This is a difficult issue to address precisely because China has the world's second-largest economy" and is "ruthless" when challenged, says John Herbst, a former longtime diplomat now at the Atlantic Council.
Luckin Coffee filed on Monday for a U.S. IPO as it tries to overtake Starbucks for coffee chain dominance in China.
The backdrop: The filing reports a 3,883% revenue increase between Q1 2018 and Q1 2019, with losses more than tripling over that same period. It comes just one week after Luckin raised $150 million at a $2.9 billion valuation in a funding round led by Blackrock, which is Starbucks' second-largest outside shareholder.
China's growth so far this year has been better than expected and it will begin a shift away from stimulus and towards reform and restructuring, according to China's 25-member ruling body headed by President Xi Jinping. The news was reported by state news agency Xinhua.
Why it matters: China's stimulus has been a major source of relief for Chinese and global financial markets, and the government now looks to be shifting gears.
The Trump administration Monday dramatically escalated its campaign of economic warfare against Iran, announcing that it would not renew any waivers for countries to import Iranian oil after May 2.
The big picture: Per Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, the goal is for Iran to reverse its foreign and domestic policies and accede to 12 demands he set out in a speech last year. But the plan is certain to face pushback from importers of Iranian oil, raise prices for consumers and further erode the value of sanctions as a tool of diplomacy.
Oil prices rose sharply Monday to their highest levels since November as the White House confirmed it will end sanctions waivers for countries that still purchase Iranian oil.
Driving the news: The U.S. will seek to further drive down Iranian exports by ending exemptions granted last year to China, India and a handful of others.
