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Good morning. China's foreign minister warns of spiraling US relations, Meta to cut more jobs and the EU tries to drive down gas prices. Here's what people are talking about.

China's new foreign minister warned that soaring US-China tensions risk blowing past any guardrails in the relationship, showing that divisions between the world's biggest economies are becoming more entrenched. "The US claims that it seeks to outcompete China but does not seek conflict," Foreign Minister Qin Gang said Tuesday at his first news briefing since taking office late last year. "Yet in reality, its so-called competition aims to contain and suppress China in all respects and get the two countries locked in a zero-sum game."

The European Union plans to take its first steps into the global natural gas market as a buyers' cartel next month as it seeks to drive down energy prices. Initial estimates put joint demand from the bloc's 27 nations and three neighboring countries at 24 billion cubic meters over the next three years, according to European Commission Vice President Maros Sefcovic. After the tender is launched in April, the EU expects the first contracts with suppliers from the US to the Middle East and Africa to be signed around June.

Meta Platforms the owner of Facebook and Instagram, is planning a fresh round of layoffs and will cut thousands of employees as soon as this week, according to people familiar with the matter. The world's largest social networking company is eliminating more jobs, on top of a 13% reduction in November, in a bid to become a more efficient organization. In its earlier round of cuts, Meta slashed 11,000 workers in what was its first-ever major layoff.

French unions are betting on a massive turnout on Tuesday to bring the country to a standstill in a sixth day of protests against President Emmanuel Macron's plan to raise the minimum retirement age. Strikes are expected to cause severe disruption to transport, with only one-in-five high-speed trains running, and a third of international Eurostar and Thalys services cut. Air France expects to operate eight out of 10 short- and medium-haul flights.

European shares are poised for a flat start as traders await Fed Chair Jerome Powell's Senate panel testimony. The ECB issues its consumer expectations survey. Expected data include Swiss unemployment and Greek GDP, as well as Norwegian, Danish, Spanish and Irish industrial production. Henkel, Ashtead and Ferguson are among companies on tap for earnings.

This is what's caught our eye over the past 24 hours

The debt ceiling is the risk Wall Street doesn't want to think about.
UK grid issues energy supply warning for Tuesday amid cold snap.
Dimon says war in Ukraine, China relations are top concerns.
Europe bond sales blast past half-a-trillion mark in record time.
China's exports extend declines, adding pressure to economy.
ECB battle lines form for March decision as future hikes debated.
Mobius bank headache highlights scrutiny on China outflows.

Buried under the slower-growth targets released by China on Monday was more evidence of a pivot to a consumer-focused economy. That's bad news for commodities, but good news for Europe.

There are many interesting theories about why China is lowering its aim for GDP growth to around 5% this year from around 5.5% in 2022. It may be that they're lowering the bar to set up potential a positive surprise later in the year.

But regardless of the reason, the outlook is pretty bleak for commodities, as Nour Al Ali pointed out earlier. And with the Bloomberg Commodity Index already down 5% this year (-1.3% ex energy, measured in euros), the outlook is grim.

If more growth accrues to consumer demand, though, European stocks with their strong export links to China should do well. Spending on luxury goods was a feature pretty much everywhere as restrictions were lifted, but the latest policy moves suggest it will be amplified in China.

This commentary first ran on Markets Live on the Bloomberg Terminal, where Eddie van der Walt is Deputy Managing Editor based in London. Follow him on Twitter at @EdVanDerWalt