Hello and welcome to World Business Report from the BBC World Service.
I'm Roger Hearing.
And on this edition, European leaders meet after the bombshell change in US Policy on Ukraine.
But are they willing
or able to up their spending on defence enough to take back the initiative on peace talks?
Also, China's president holds a highly unusual meeting with the country's tech bosses.
What does this tell us about the direction of the country's economy
and how US Small businesses are dealing with the challenges of the Trump administration?
Administration's planned tariffs but first, Europe's leaders are gathering in Paris,
somewhat shell shocked by the pace of Washington's moves to talk to Russia
and negotiate an end to the Ukraine war.
US Vice President J.D. vance startled his audience last week
at the Munich Security summit with his rhetoric about the continent
and its failures on defense.
And this week,
Europe and Ukraine do not have a seat at the table as US Russian talks get underway in Saudi Arabia.
So the EU and British leadership are getting together to chart their next move.
What seems inevitable is a ramping
up of defense spending to fill what could be a US sized hole in support for Ukraine
and Europe's protective armor.