FirstFT: Chinese Communist party accused of ‘invisible government’ at Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank

Good morning. Today’s top story is about a controversy at the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. But first I’d like to introduce myself, as I just began writing this newsletter two weeks ago, and encourage you to let me know what stories you’d like to see in your FirstFT newsletter. Send your thoughts to benjamin.wilhelm@ft.com. I’d love to hear from you!

A Canadian communications chief of the multilateral lender that is China’s answer to the World Bank has resigned, alleging that the institution is run by Communist party members who “operate like an internal secret police.”

Bob Pickard, the Canadian director-general for communications of the Beijing-headquartered multilateral lender, said he flew to Tokyo on Wednesday because he feared for his safety after raising concerns about what he claimed was the party’s infiltration of the lender.

The accusations underline the tensions in multilateral institutions trying to bridge the growing divide between China and the west.

“These people are like an invisible government inside the bank and this is what I can’t be part of,” Pickard told the Financial Times from Tokyo. “I don’t want to be a useful idiot.”

The AIIB said in a statement that Pickard’s “recent public comments and characterisation of the Bank are baseless and disappointing”.

Here’s what else I’m keeping tabs on today:

• Monetary policy: China is expected to cut the headline interest rate for the first time in almost a year, and economists are convinced the European Central Bank will raise interest rates today by another quarter percentage point.

• Meetings: Nato defence ministers begin a two-day meeting in Brussels, and US national security adviser Jake Sullivan visits Tokyo, where he will meet counterparts from Japan, the Philippines and South Korea.

• Sam Bankman-Fried: Lawyers for the former FTX chief executive, who faces multiple charges including wire fraud, will present oral arguments in New York.

Five more top stories

1. India’s government has denied reports of a leak of highly sensitive personal data that experts say could be one of the country’s worst digital security breaches. The alleged breach originated from the government’s Co-Win online vaccination platform via a “bot” on the Telegram messaging app.

2. The US Federal Reserve paused interest rate hikes following 10 consecutive increases but signalled its intention to implement further rises this year. The Fed kept the benchmark rate at the existing target range of between 5 per cent and 5.25 per cent, marking the first reprieve since the US central bank embarked on an aggressive monetary tightening programme last year.

3. Vladimir Putin has backed a plan to bring Russia’s irregular forces fighting in Ukraine under the authority of the defence ministry, appearing to side with the military in its long-running dispute with the Wagner paramilitary group. Read more on the drive to put Yevgeny Prigozhin’s militia under central control.

4. Exclusive: The EU is funding Huawei to run cutting-edge research on technology ranging from artificial intelligence and cloud computing to 6G, the FT has discovered. The funding comes despite the EU pressing for stricter curbs on the company over security fears.

5. China has offered to mediate between rival Palestinian factions and facilitate peace talks with Israel, in the latest move by Beijing to boost its diplomatic role in the Middle East.

Visual story

Aviation companies around the world are closing in on the dream: a battery-powered aircraft that takes off and lands like a helicopter, cruises like a plane and is blessed by regulators for commercial use. Yet the journey to build, certify and fly such an aircraft remains expensive, uncertain and competitive. Which flying taxi will take off first?

We’re also reading and listening to . . . 

• Open-source AI: Experts are waking up to the threat posed by AI tools if they fall into malevolent hands, writes Gillian Tett.

• Edward Luce: A victory in next year’s presidential election would be Trump’s get-out-of-jail-free card — and America’s funeral. 

• FT’s new Unhedged podcast ????: In the debut episode, the FT’s Ethan Wu and Katie Martin try to figure out the confusing US economy and the possibility of a recession. Free to listen.

Want more from Unhedged? FT premium subscribers can click here to get the weekday newsletter. Not a premium subscriber? Try Unhedged for free for 90 days.

Chart of the day

You are seeing a snapshot of an interactive graphic. This is most likely due to being offline or JavaScript being disabled in your browser.

Chinese policymakers acted earlier this week to boost financial sector liquidity. But many economists believe even stronger action will be needed to reinvigorate the world’s second-biggest economy. Our analysis reveals months of disappointing data.

Take a break from the news

With their capacity for flight, birds are truly global creatures. And as three new books show, the contemplation of these animals offers a simple way to engage with the world beyond ourselves, and can also produce what you might think of as a broader planetary consciousness, writes Olivia Judson in this engaging essay.

Additional contributions by Tee Zhuo and Gordon Smith