The selling continued to be felt across assets, with silver taking another beating and bitcoin wiping out all the gains built up since Donald Trump's US election win.
The Trump administration has repeatedly pressed for a new treaty to include China, whose arsenal is growing but still significantly smaller than those of Russia and the United States, but Beijing has publicly rejected the pressure.
The move is the latest in the Trump administration's battle with Harvard over claims that the Ivy League institution promotes "woke" ideology.
A sense of calm has descended on trading floors over the past few days after last week's asset-wide volatility, helped by forecast-busting US jobs figures that eased worries about the world's top economy.
New Delhi plans to spend $133 billion on infrastructure and $85 billion on defence, a respective rise of around nine and 15 percent compared to last year's budget.
Lai, a British citizen and founder of the now-defunct Apple Daily newspaper, was found guilty in December of collusion with foreign countries by urging them to impose sanctions on Hong Kong and for publishing "seditious" articles in his paper.
The fire erupted at an upgrading unit in the Baiji refinery, once the country's largest oil refinery, in Salaheddin province.
The defence ministry said last month it was investigating Zhang, the vice chairman of the powerful Central Military Commission (CMC), as well as Liu Zhenli, chief of staff of the CMC's joint staff department, which oversees combat planning.
The result was quickly welcomed by European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen and French President Emmanuel Macron.
While in the country, Starmer discussed trade, football and elephants with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
Starmer noted that Japan and Britain were the leading economies in a trans-Pacific that includes fellow G7 member Canada, as well as other international trade and defence pacts.
So when Mexico hiked tariffs on the Asian giant at the start of 2026, its toy manufacturers, including local factories of Lego and Barbie-maker Mattel, had mixed emotions.
Starmer's trip is the first to China by a British prime minister in eight years, and follows in the footsteps of other Western leaders looking to counter an increasingly volatile United States.
Despite a US-brokered truce entering its second phase earlier this month, violence in the Palestinian territory has continued, with both Israel and Hamas accusing each other of violating the agreement.
Chinese AI models are surging globally, favoured by some companies for their functionality and low cost, sparking fierce domestic competition.
China is the world's largest consumer of gold, which is traditionally purchased by families to mark special occasions like births and weddings.
