A former Belgian envoy to the EU says China is not intentionally manufacturing overcapacity to undercut Western competitors.

The US announced plans on Tuesday to increase tariffs on 14 categories of products from China under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, covering US$18 billion in imports.

The companies are the latest additions to the Uygur Forced Labor Prevention Act Entity List that restricts the import of goods tied to what Washington says is as an ongoing genocide of minorities in China’s Xinjiang region.

Analysts say Beijing is preparing ‘for all types of situations’ in a trade war with the US that shows no sign of abating after six years, as the leading presidential candidates vow to turn up the heat.

Weak steel demand at home has encouraged China, the world’s biggest producer of the alloy, to offload its surplus stocks by offering competitive rates to Indian buyers, hurting Indian producers.

Unprecedented logistics centre in Latin America financed by Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative is locked in a legal battle over its operation.

Analysts discuss how Beijing could respond to Washington’s latest trade offensive, and how the impact could have repercussions beyond China’s borders.

Some EU member states with major automotive ties to China are voicing their opposition to any push to match US import tariffs, or to impose any duties at all.

Tariffs would rise to 100 per cent from 27.5 per cent on China-made electric vehicles (EVs) and to 50 per cent on its semiconductors and solar cells.

US imports of used cooking oil more than tripled in 2023, with more than half coming from China, according to the US International Trade Commission.

Two Chinese firms withdraw bids for Romanian photovoltaic park contracts after Brussels opens investigations under its foreign subsidies regulation.

Finance deals made through smaller Chinese banks would help ‘resolve the threat of secondary sanctions’, according to fresh findings by a Renmin University institute.

Premier Li Qiang tells a State Council meeting that ‘digital, smart and green’ development of the sector would help make the economy more efficient.

DHL Express expects its Asia-Pacific business to be strong driven by shifts in supply chain businesses moving out of China amid geopolitical tensions.

Weapons sales, security cooperation ‘destined to increase’, experts say, as China opens ‘new chapter’ in Serbian ties.

The Chinese president upgraded relations with Serbia and Hungary, but in France made few if any concessions to reduce the flood of Chinese imports into the EU.

The US will impose new, elevated tariffs that focus on key industries including electric vehicles, batteries and solar cells, according to Bloomberg and The Wall Street Journal.

More multinationals are undergoing a ‘decoupling’ with their China-based operations, a new business survey finds as foreign direct investment sinks and analysts say expatriate staff are harder to come by.

European firms have been revising expectations for the Chinese market while planning for a projected economic slowdown, further adding to China’s challenges and ‘setting a negative cycle in motion’.

China’s exports returned to positive growth in April amid a recovery of global demand, but analysts said the focus should still be on sustaining momentum in domestic demand.

German authorities last month arrested suspect only named as Thomas R over spying for Beijing, with information trail suggesting man is Thomas Reichenbach.

Success of the US$17 billion Iraq Development Road depends on Iraq-Turkey ties, which have been fraught over oil exports and militant issues, analysts say.