Czech political upheaval, Russia-China ties

Protests in the Czech Republic this week calling for the resignation of Prime Minister Andrej Babiš have raised the chance of a government collapse. But even if political uncertainty builds, there is unlikely to be much impact on financial markets or the economy. Meanwhile, the meetings between President’s Xi and Putin this week belies weak economic ties between the two countries. Most of the problems holding back growth in Russia are, in any case, home-grown; stronger ties with China won’t remedy this.