A report by Rhodium Group and the Mercator Institute for China Studies estimates that Chinese direct investment in the EU surged 76 per cent to €35.1bn in 2016. EU acquisitions in China, by contrast, fell for the second consecutive year, to €7.7bn. The imbalance was particularly sharp in Germany. Source: FT
Sweden’s national police chief has presented a new report about the country’s problem areas, increasing the number of districts classified as vulnerable or especially vulnerable. The report, which is likely to grab headlines in Sweden and abroad, follows another high-profile report from 2015 which listed 53 so-called vulnerable areas, including 15 considered especially vulnerable. Source The Local
Emmanuel Macron will not scrap UK border controls on French soil, according to the French interior minister, but Britain should pay more towards handling illegal migrants seeking to cross the Channel. Mr Macron, the newly-elected French President, vowed during his election campaign to renegotiate the Le Touquet agreement which enables British border officials to carry out checks in France. Source The Telegraph
Chinese efforts to persuade North Korea to rein in its nuclear program have failed, President Donald Trump said on Tuesday, ratcheting up the rhetoric over the death of an American student who had been detained by Pyongyang. Source Reuters
