In the latest of several media interviews this week, Australia's Trade Minister has sounded positive on the prospects for continued improvements in the Australia-China trade relationship.

A Republican Senator is calling for a Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) review of the licensing agreement between Ford Motor Company and Chinese company Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Limited (CATL) that was signed earlier this week.

After Virginia abandoned its efforts to lure an investment by Ford to open a battery plant that would have licensed technology from Chinese company CATL, Michigan announced that it had reached an incentive agreement with Ford that would bring the factory there.

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.