Top Overnight News Donald Trump demanded other countries, including China, help secure passage for ships in the Strait of Hormuz. He told the FT his planned summit with Xi Jinping may be delayed if Beijing doesn’t assist. Iran’s foreign minister denied it’s seeking talks or a ceasefire after Trump told NBC he’s willing to make a deal but wants better terms. BBG Top U.S. and Chinese economic officials were due to conclude talks in Paris on Monday, with potential areas of agreement in agriculture, critical minerals and managed trade that could be taken up by U.S. President Donald ‌Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing. In the talks, the Chinese side showed openness to potential additional purchases of U.S. agricultural goods. RTRS Japan’s defense minister said the nation has no current plans to send warships to the Strait of Hormuz. Separately, the finance minister said officials are prepared to respond boldly to currency market movements. BBG Volodymyr Zelenskiy said a drone deal with the US is still possible despite Trump’s public rejection. BBG American oil executives delivered a bleak message to Trump officials in recent days: The energy crisis the Iran war has unleashed is likely to get worse. Exxon CEO Darren Woods said that oil prices could rise past current elevated levels if speculators unexpectedly bid up prices and that markets could see a supply crunch of refined products. WSJ China's economy began the year on a firmer footing as factory output quickened while retail sales and investment rebounded in January-February, offering early relief for policymakers as the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran injects fresh uncertainty for growth. China saw retail sales (+2.8% vs. the Street +2.5%) and industrial production (+6.3% vs. the Street +5.3%). RTRS Socialist Emmanuel Gregoire led the first round of Sunday’s Paris mayoral election. Runoffs for the municipal polls will be held March 22. BBG Wealthy individuals have sought to pull more than $10bn from some of the largest private credit funds in the 1st quarter, prompting investment managers to limit withdrawals and threatening to stall one of Wall Street’s most important sources of growth. FT Meta will pay up to $27 billion over the next five years for access to AI infrastructure from neocloud firm Nebius, as it seeks to compete with the industry’s top frontier models. Meta shares rose premarket after Reuters reported it’s planning layoffs that may affect 20% or more of its workforce. The cuts are aimed at offsetting costly investments in AI. BBG(zerohedge)