Politico – Suzanne Lynch / Zelenskyy welcomes the EU to his turf – and makes a case for membership

• Looking out from the historic Gorodetsky House in a central Kyiv now populated with sandbags and heavy armory, Volodymyr Zelenskyy had one big ask for his guests on Thursday: Take Ukraine’s wish to enter the EU seriously. 
• Zelenskyy welcomed European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to a heavily fortified compound in the heart of Kyiv as part of a day-long series of meetings between the Zelenskyy government and EU officials, during a visit rich with symbolism.
• Though this was von der Leyen’s fourth visit to Ukraine since Russia launched its invasion nearly a year ago, it was the first where she was joined by a gaggle of EU commissioners, the officials tasked with overseeing the bloc’s major initiatives.
• The gathering also took place on the eve of Friday’s high-stakes EU-Ukraine summit, where von der Leyen will be joined by European Council chief Charles Michel. It’s the first time an EU event of this kind will take place in an active war zone.
• Project Syndicate – Josep Borrell / Making Ukrainian victory possible

The Guardian – Rebecca Ratcliffe and Helen Davidson / US seals crucial military deal with the Philippines close to China flashpoints

• The Philippines has granted the US expanded access to its military bases, greatly enhancing Washington’s presence in the region at a time of growing concern about Chinese aggression.
• Washington would be given access to four additional military bases in “strategic areas of the country”, the Philippines’ Department of National Defense said on Thursday, without specifying the locations.
• The expanded access will fill a crucial gap in US positioning in the region, say analysts, and enable it to better monitor Chinese activity in the South China Sea and near Taiwan. 
• The deal has been made under an Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) that allows the US access to Philippine bases for joint training, storing equipment and supplies, and building of facilities, though not to establish a permanent presence. The US already has access to five sites.
• South China Morning Post – Teddy Ng and Kawala Xie / US bases deal could drag Philippines into troubled waters

Financial Times – Sam Fleming, Colby Smith and Alice Hancock / Ukraine’s allies push IMF to approve $14bn-$16bn loan

• Ukraine’s allies are pushing the IMF to finalise plans for a multibillion-dollar lending programme as they seek to strengthen the war-torn country’s finances. 
• The fund’s representatives are planning to meet Ukrainian officials in Warsaw in mid-February to advance discussions over a loan that could range from $14bn-$16bn, said officials familiar with the talks. The goal is to finalise it by the spring. 
• Ukraine has said it is facing a $38bn deficit this year, while the World Bank has estimated that more than half of its energy infrastructure has been destroyed by Russian attacks, compounding the pressure on its economy. 
• To cover the financing gap, the EU has put forward €18bn in a package agreed between its member states in December. But the bloc and other major partners of Kyiv want international lenders to accelerate their efforts to provide further support.

Financial Times – Demetri Sevastopulo / Antony Blinken to meet Xi Jinping in first visit to China by a Biden cabinet secretary

• Antony Blinken is expected to meet Xi Jinping in Beijing, making him the first US secretary of state to sit down with the Chinese leader in nearly six years and the first of President Joe Biden’s cabinet secretaries to visit China. 
• Several people familiar with the planning said the top US diplomat would meet Xi during his two-day visit, which starts on Sunday. Blinken is visiting China after Biden and Xi agreed in Bali in November that they should find ways to stabilise the turbulent US-China relationship. 
• His visit marks a new phase of stepped-up engagement between the countries following a very difficult period that was further complicated by the Covid-19 pandemic. US Treasury secretary Janet Yellen will visit China later this year. Yellen met Liu He, the top Chinese economic official, in Zurich last month. 
• “If President Xi Jinping decides to meet with Secretary Blinken it will be another in a series of recent signals from the Chinese leader of a desire to change the tone, if not the substance, of US-China relations,” said Dennis Wilder, the top White House Asia adviser to former president George W Bush.

Our opinion reads for the weekend:

• Financial Times – Sam Fleming, Alice Hancock and Javier Espinoza / Can the EU keep up with the US on green subsidies?
• The Washington Post – Fareed Zakaria / There’s a remedy for Britain’s problems: rejoin the EU
• Project Syndicate – Joseph S. Nye, Jr. / Japan’s strategic imperative
• Financial Times – The editorial board / Trump and the future of the Republicans