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On May 14, in Beijing, Donald Trump and Xi Jinping held their first talks on Chinese territory in nine years. The meeting lasted more than two hours and was held behind closed doors. Trump called her "excellent." There are no breakthrough agreements, 145% duties remain frozen until October. But the fact that the negotiations took place at all is already a signal for the markets.

Xi Jinping announced that starting from May 1, 2026, China will cancel duties on goods from 53 African countries. One of the biggest trade reversals in Africa in recent years. For Russian businesses working with African markets or building routes through China, this is an important context: the configuration of trade flows is changing.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, at a meeting with Minister of Economic Development Maxim Reshetnikov, personally clarified how the refusal of marketplaces from compulsory discounts at the expense of sellers is progressing. Reshetnikov replied: Ozon and Wildberries have already agreed, and the agreement will soon be consolidated into law. For tens of thousands of sellers, this is a direct signal that a practice that has been eating up margins for years is living out its last months.

PIX— the instant payment system of the Central Bank of Brazil, has overtaken cards as the main payment method in the country's online commerce. Mercado Livre, Magazine Luiza and Lojas Renner have integrated PIX as a priority payment method. The system works around the clock, instantly and for free — in terms of functionality it is a direct analogue of the Russian SBP.

The bill on taxation of cryptocurrencies and digital financial assets will be submitted to the State Duma next week. This was stated by Alexey Yakovlev, Director of the Financial Policy Department of the Ministry of Finance, at the Alpha Summit. The document contains the long-awaited norm for the CFA market and specific rules for personal income tax on income from cryptocurrencies.

Iran began to allow part of the Chinese ships through the Strait of Hormuz, the Iranian Fars news agency reported on May 15. Trump lifted the two-day blockade of the strait after the first round of talks with Xi Jinping. About 20% of the world's oil and LNG supplies pass through Hormuz. For cargo carriers and importers whose routes are linked to the Persian Gulf, this is a pause in the most acute episode of the crisis.

Russia plans to complete the formation of an autonomous digital infrastructure by 2028. We are talking about creating a stable communication system, data centers and traffic management capable of operating independently of global network nodes. The volume of investments in digital sovereignty projects may exceed 1 trillion rubles.

On May 14, Ozon launched its second fulfillment center in the Novosibirsk Region. Investments amount to 6.5 billion rubles. First stage: 80 thousand square meters, 40 million items at a time, 550 thousand orders per day. At full capacity — 1.4 million orders per day. The region has become a key logistics hub of the marketplace in Asia: from here orders go from Kaliningrad to Khabarovsk, and now abroad.

Russia and Azerbaijan have agreed on steps to implement the e-CMR electronic international consignment note. The action plan should simplify the regime of international road transport and support digitalization at the border. At the same time, the parties discussed the development of checkpoints and the North—South corridor

Russia has proposed to the EAEU countries and friendly states to launch joint projects on unmanned cargo transportation on key international corridors. The initiative immediately turns the technological conversation into a practical one — from pilots to regulation and joint infrastructure.