U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned Tuesday that Western allies must take a wary and united approach to checking China and its business practices as they grapple with how to counter Russia’s assault on Ukraine.

“We have a common interest in incentivizing China to refrain from economic practices that have disadvantaged all of us,” Yellen said in a speech to the Brussels Economic Forum.

“These practices range from those affecting trade and investment, to development and climate policies, to approaches to provide debt relief to countries facing unsustainable debt burdens,” she added.

Yellen was in Brussels ahead of a meeting of finance ministers for the Group of Seven leading economies in Bonn, Germany.

She also met Tuesday with EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. Yellen said they discussed “critical issues related to energy security, Ukraine’s economic needs, and continued coordination to impose sanctions on Russia.”

Yellen has spoken at length about China’s financing practices in Africa, which has seen a massive influx of Chinese investment. She has recently called on China explicitly to end its relationship with Russia.

“We have a set of common vulnerabilities that we should address,” Yellen said to her European audience.

U.S. retail sales rose 0.9% in April, a solid increase that underscores Americans’ ability to keep ramping up spending even as inflation persists at nearly a 40-year high.

The increase was driven by greater sales of cars, electronics, and at restaurants, the Commerce Department said Tuesday.

Even adjusting for inflation, which was 0.3% on a monthly basis in April, sales increased. Gas prices fell slightly last month, restraining inflation, after soaring in March in the aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Consumers are providing critical support to the economy even after a year of seeing prices spiral higher for gas, food, rent, and other necessities. The economy contracted in the first three months of the year, but consumer and business spending still increased at a healthy pace.

“Never bet against the U.S. consumer has always been a good adage,” said Paul Ashworth, chief U.S. economist at Capital Economics, a consulting firm, in a note to clients. “Despite the surge in prices weighing on their purchasing power, the U.S. consumer now appears to be single-handedly keeping the global economy afloat.”

The Tuesday report also showed that sales in March were revised much higher, to a gain of 1.4%, from 0.7%. As a result, spending even rose that month after adjusting for inflation, which surged to 1.2% as gas prices rose. The revision suggests the economy likely shrank by less than the 1.4% contraction that was reported last month.

The strength of the consumer makes a recession much less likely, at least anytime soon, Ashworth said. But it also keeps the pressure on the Federal Reserve to tighten borrowing costs in order to cool the economy.

Strong hiring, rapid wage increases, and a healthy level of savings — on average — have bolstered consumers’ financial health, despite a sharp increase in consumer prices of 8.3% in April compared with a year ago. The increase was just below a four-decade high reached in March.

The European Union is gearing up to release emergency measures for a full-scale gas supply shock on Wednesday, with a leaked memo calling for a range of potential actions, from a controversial cap on gas prices to the creation of a new buyers’ “cartel”.

“A different set of measures may become worth considering in the event of a sudden large scale or even full disruption of the supplies of Russian gas leading to unbearably high gas prices and inadequate supply of gas,” the European Commission said in the leaked memo, published by Euractiv.com.

One measure being considered is temporarily capping prices to give customers a reprieve and to reduce inflationary pressure. However, this is a controversial measure that the Commission itself finds dangerous.

Natural gas prices in Europe have historically fallen below 30 euros per MWh, but are now hovering around 100 euros per MWh, and at some points have surpassed 200 euros per MWh, the Commission said, leading to a massive increase in wholesale electricity prices because gas-fired power plants tend to drive prices in the bloc’s power markets.

The Commission also noted that energy prices are expected to remain high for the remainder of this year, and even into 2024-2025.

Price caps, say many market stakeholders, is one emergency measure in the Commission’s “Toolbox” that should be avoided at all costs.

“Short-term price interventions could remove the interest of market participants to hedge against the risk of high prices in the future,” the leaked memo notes, citing an EU official as saying that price caps could lead to lower storage injection, “which must be avoided by any means”.

Instead, some stakeholders are promoting the creation of a “buyer’s cartel”.

German Green MEP Michael Bloss, coming out against a price cap, instead has called for a buyers’ cartel. “The price of gas will fall if G7 only buys gas for a low price. For this, we need courage and creativity and must not simply surrender to the absurdly high gas prices,” he said.

Russia cut off gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria in late April for their refusal to pay using a ruble scheme. Late last week, Russia threatened to cut off gas supplies to Finland over Helsinki’s decision to apply for fast-tracked NATO membership.