Last week, a bipartisan duo of U.S. Senators introduced legislation "to prevent the granting of 'developing nation' status to China in future treaties and international organizations."

In an opinion issued in late December, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit upheld the decision by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to revoke the authority of China Telecom (Americas) Corp. to operate domestic and international transmission lines.

The U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee held a hearing last week on "Evaluating U.S.-China Policy in the Era of Strategic Competition," with one of the issues discussed being how to counter Chinese economic coercion.

In two interviews on Sunday, Australia's trade minister spoke positively about the possibility of some Chinese trade restrictions on Australian goods being lifted.

Reports last week indicated that Chinese-made security cameras found in Australian government offices would be removed.

Last week, China filed a revised version of its WTO consultations request in the dispute over U.S. semiconductor restrictions, switching from "multilateral" consultations that other governments can join to "bilateral" consultations that they cannot.

A bipartisan group of U.S. Senators is pressing Chinese fast fashion company SHEIN for information on Xinjiang cotton made with forced labor in their supply chains.