In a ruling last week, a U.S. district court judge found several Chinese entities, including the central government and the Communist Party of China, liable for $24 billion in damages due to actions related to the spread of Covid-19.

The U.S. government's "Disruptive Technology Strike Force," an interagency law enforcement strike force co-led by the Departments of Justice and Commerce, is prosecuting a North Carolina businessman they say was attempting to illegally export sensitive technology to China.

In a ruling in late February, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected a motion by Chinese electronics maker Hikvision related to enforcement of a court ruling from last year that affected Federal Communications Commission (FCC) equipment approvals.

This past week, CTM covered the following issues: In China: * Li Qiang outline of action plan for government * IPCC and China in global climate governance * Dispute with Laos over a BRI-related project * Warning of retaliation against U.S. copper tariffs * GACC SPS measures in February 2025 In the U.S.

At the November 2024 meeting of the WTO's Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade, for which the minutes were recently circulated, China raised two new concerns related to European auto regulations, and other Members reiterated old concerns with some Chinese measures, including its Cybersecurity Law.

An electric utility project described by China as being part of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has led to international arbitration, as the Chinese company in charge of the project has sued the Laotian government for US$555 million.

CK Hutchison, a Hong Kong company that owns and operates two key Panama ports, as well as many other ports across the globe, has reached an agreement in principle with private equity firm BlackRock to sell a significant portion of its port business.