China will be the elephant in the room at this week's meeting of Group of Seven (G7) finance leaders, who will seek to diversify supply chains away from the country -- but also try to get Beijing's cooperation in solving global debt problems.

China's consumer prices rose at the slowest pace in more than two years in April, while factory gate deflation deepened, data showed on Thursday, suggesting more stimulus may be needed to boost a patchy post-COVID economic recovery.

The U.S. government reported a $176 billion surplus in April, down sharply from a year-ago record as revenues fell, the U.S. Treasury Department said on Wednesday as a June 1 deadline for a potential debt ceiling default drew closer.

The annual increase in U.S. consumer prices slowed to below 5% in April for the first time in two years, while a key inflation measure monitored by the Federal Reserve subsided, potentially providing cover for the central bank to pause further interest rate hikes next month. 

An April inflation reading on Wednesday that was more benign than expected disrupted the modest momentum that had been building for an 11th straight U.S. interest rate hike in June.

Asian shares rose on Thursday as investors cheered signs of easing inflationary pressure in the U.S. after data showed consumer prices in April rose at a slower-than-expected pace.