Cable outage reports raise eyebrows because Russian President Vladimir Putin is due to visit Hanoi this week – news that drew a sharp rebuke from US officials
 
							Chinese leader allegedly told European president that Washington was trying to trick Beijing into attacking Taiwan
 
							Li Qiang ended his four-day trip to Australia on Tuesday with a visit to a lithium processing plant, after embassy officials 'clumsy' bid to hide jailed journalist from cameras
 
							The investment mogul’s stake in the Chinese electric vehicle maker is effectively down more than 66%
 
							Among the biggest drags on Nikkei was Toyota Motor, which slid 2.6% amid continued fallout from a safety test certification scandal
 
							US lawmakers have backed a bill that would ban the sale of drones made by China's DJI, but the move still needs to be assessed by the US Senate
 
							China's state-owned banks can offer loans as low as 1.4% for nuclear power development, far lower than available in Western economies
 
							China has opened a probe into pork imported from Europe a week after the EU put extra tariffs on Chinese cars; meanwhile, production of cheap Chinese EVs has begun in Poland
 
							Western governments are offering incentives to Brazil to develop a rare earths supply chain. It has large reserves and its first rare earths mine started commercial production this year
 
							Factory output in May was flat, while the property sector continues to weigh on sentiment, despite strong exports and a rise in retail sales
Pro-trade business groups have appealed for a 30-day extension for the period allowed for public feedback and a hearing to be held on the proposed hikes; that could delay the date they are implemented
 
							Sentiment was hurt as the United States said it was considering taking additional steps against Chinese companies that have been supplying Russia's defence industrial sector