U.S. President Donald J. Trump, at the Group of Seven (G7) summit in France, praised Chinese President Xi Jinping and said Beijing is seeking to resume trade talks (FT) between the two countries, though Beijing did not confirm it reached out. Vice Premier Liu He said that China “resolutely opposes” further escalation (SCMP) in the trade war and prefers “calm negotiations.”
 
The statements came after Trump threatened retaliation over the latest round of tariffs on U.S. goods by China and suggested he could use a national security law to order U.S. companies to leave China (NYT). The trade dispute between the world’s two largest economies has led to increased tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars worth of goods since last year.

Hong Kong police fired a warning shot and deployed water cannons during pro-democracy protests (SCMP) yesterday. Thirty-six people were arrested and fifteen officers were wounded in the Sunday demonstrations, according to police.
 
Indonesia: President Joko Widodo unveiled a plan to move the country’s capital (Reuters) from Jakarta to the island of Borneo. The move is projected to cost nearly $33 billion.

More than one hundred thousand Rohingya gathered at a refugee camp (Dhaka Tribune) in Bangladesh to mark the two-year anniversary of their exodus from Myanmar. A Rohingya leader said the group will not return to the country until Myanmar officials agree to a dialogue with them to hear their demands.
 
Afghanistan: Roughly 2,000 of 7,385 prospective voting centers in the country will be closed (TOLO) during the upcoming presidential election due to security concerns, according to the national election commission.

Lebanese state media reported that Israel’s air force attacked a Palestinian base (AP) in eastern Lebanon today. Yesterday, two drones that Lebanon said were Israeli crashed south of Beirut.
 
Iran: The Iranian-flagged oil tanker seized in Gibraltar last month and recently released changed its reported destination (AP) to a port city in southern Turkey. The United States accused the tanker of attempting to transport oil to Syria, in violation of international sanctions.

Congolese Prime Minister Ilunga Ilukamba unveiled today a cabinet of sixty-five ministers, many of whom are viewed as allies of former President Joseph Kabila. The announcement comes eight months (Reuters) after a long-delayed election in which Kabila stepped down.
 
Sudan: New Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok said the country will need $8 billion in aid over the next two years to rebuild its economy (Reuters). He also said he has begun debt-restructuring talks with the World Bank and International Monetary Fund.
 
In Foreign Affairs, Michael Woldemariam and Alden Young discuss whether Sudan will become the center of a new African order.

At a summit in Biarritz, France, leaders of the G7 nations committed $20 million (AP) to fight ongoing fires in the Amazon and launch a global initiative to protect the rain forest. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif spoke with British, French, and German officials in sideline meetings (NYT) at the summit.
 
This CFR Backgrounder looks at the G7 and the future of multilateralism.
 
Brussels: European Union officials are considering a plan to simplify the bloc’s budget rules (FT) and soften debt-reduction requirements for member states in a bid to ease pressure on struggling economies.

Military operations are underway across seven states to help extinguish fires (Reuters) in the Amazon Rainforest, Brazil’s defense minister said. He said more than forty thousand troops are available in the area, but did not provide details on deployments.
 
Ecuador: Venezuelans will require a visa (FT) to enter the country beginning today. Up to three thousand Venezuelan migrants per day entered Ecuador over the past week, the United Nations said.
 
In Foreign Affairs, Cynthia J. Arnson writes that Venezuela’s neighbors are more than pulling their weight in the refugee crisis.