He Lifeng, Politburo member and vice premier, met a Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) delegation at the Great Hall of the People on the 29th. He said China welcomes Japanese firms to expand in China and urged JETRO to play a greater role in promoting Sino-Japanese economic and trade cooperation. JETRO's new chairman Iwaya said Japan's business community will continue to expand exchanges and deepen mutually beneficial cooperation with China.

Local governor said Russia attacked port infrastructure in Ukraine's southern Odesa region.

ANZ expects the Reserve Bank of Australia to deliver 25bps hikes in both September and November, with the September move lifting the cash rate to 4.60%. September would be the fourth 25bps increase this year and take rates to around a 15-year high; ANZ expects a further 25bps in November that would push rates to levels not seen since 2008. The call is driven by stubborn inflation from domestic demand outstripping supply and a recent U.S.-Iran conflict-driven spike in oil and gas prices that has fed through into other sectors. ANZ says the RBA is likelier to treat the oil-price rise as an inflation shock rather than a growth shock, increasing the odds of two hikes rather than one.