With several trade meetings having now taken place, and additional high level ones on the horizon, China and Australia continue to make progress on improving their trade relations, even in the face of political hurdles such as an Australian security agreement with the U.S. and the UK, and new

At a WTO meeting that was held yesterday and today, several long-standing and new China-U.S. trade conflicts were on the agenda.

At the WTO's DSB meeting last Friday, the United States, Hong Kong, and China all offered comments on the recent WTO panel report finding U.S. origin marking requirements related to products from Hong Kong to be in violation of WTO rules.

At the meeting of the WTO's Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade on November 16-18, 2022, a number of WTO Members raised "specific trade concerns" (STCs) about particular Chinese measures, and China voiced its concerns with measures of other Members.

Last week, the U.S. Trade Representative's Office released its 2023 National Trade Estimate Report on Foreign Trade Barriers, including a long section on Chinese barriers.

A think tank report from early March counts up the main types of sanctions imposed by the U.S. government that have been imposed on Chinese individuals and entities, and offers an assessment of future developments in this area.

This past week, CTM covered the following issues. In China: * Diplomatic ties with Honduras, new agreements with Brazil * High level officials' meetings with international executives * A new cybersecurity review of Micron * Reports on Chinese lending and lending to China In the United States: * Congressional hearings on the Pacific Islands