The upcoming White House meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping is expected to offer clues about future U.S.-China trade relations and China’s position on Iran and the Middle East conflict, although some China watchers expect limited progress as both sides seek to preserve their current trade truce. Trump also expressed a desire to rename the Strait of Hormuz after himself, less than a week after signing an executive order changing Lake Ontario’s name to "Lake America." Travel industry executives separately urged Trump’s administration to target 100 million international visitors by 2030. Oil exports through the Strait of Hormuz reached more than 17 million barrels a day on Monday, a wartime record, Energy Secretary Chris Wright told CNBC. Chevron plans to invest $7 billion in Venezuela and more than double its oil production there over the next five years. At G20 gatherings, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman called AI use "non-negotiable," while Anthropic co-founder Tom Brown praised Trump’s position on AI data centers. Uber plans to cut 10% of its workforce to consolidate management layers and reduce costs, but declined to disclose the number of jobs affected and did not attribute the cuts to AI. U.S. stocks ended higher on Wednesday, with all three major averages ending a three-day decline, while Asian markets closed lower amid concern over Iran-U.S. tensions. Inflation, higher interest rates and elevated debt remain key market concerns as benchmark borrowing costs worldwide extend multi-decade highs; central banks in major economies, including the U.S., are widely expected to raise rates this month. Separately, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged airlines, insurers and users of Russia’s key airports to avoid Russian airspace as Ukraine expands long-range drone strikes against Russian oil refineries and logistics hubs.