This past week, CTM covered the following issues.

As part of China's efforts to increase imports, the Ministry of Commerce and the Beijing government hosted the first 2026 event of the "Big Market for All: Export to China" campaign.

China finalized a new mandatory national standard that effectively bans flush or hidden electric vehicle (EV) door handles beginning in 2027, a move aimed at improving safety and post-crash rescue. The move could have a particular impact on U.S. electric vehicle producer Tesla, as well as a few Chinese competitors who have followed Tesla in adopting this feature.

Passenger flights from mainland China to Japan plunged by almost half since Beijing urged its citizens to avoid Japan last November, part of the rising tensions between the two nations.

The U.S. Treasury Department issued its semiannual report to Congress on "Macroeconomic and Foreign Exchange Policies of Major Trading Partners of the United States." As has been the usual practice in recent years, China was not found to be a currency manipulator, but was kept on a "monitoring list."

In China-UK relations, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer's visit to China last week produced a package of economic and political agreements designed to expand UK market access in China, with a primary focus on the services sector. Following his trip to China, Starmer returned home and presented the results to Parliament.

The UK House of Commons Business and Trade Committee published a report on economic security, with a recent update including a UK Government response to the Committee's earlier recommendations. Economic coercion and Chinese government subsidies are two key areas that were covered.

The European Commission announced that it was starting a new Foreign Subsidies Regulation investigation into subsidies allegedly received by Chinese wind energy company Goldwind Science & Technology Co., Ltd.

A WTO panel circulated its report on China's complaint against tax credits under the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), finding violations of several WTO obligations and rejecting a U.S. defense based on public morals.

The controversy over the Hong Kong-based Hutchison Ports contract related to running ports on both sides of the Panama Canal has led to an international investment lawsuit by the company against the Government of Panama.