Last week, China and Ecuador announced an agreement to restructure Ecuador's $4.4 billion in outstanding debt, and also advanced trade talks and said they hoped to reach a trade deal by December.

Last week, the Biden administration announced that a U.S. Commerce Department investigation "found that [Neodymium-iron-boron] magnet imports threaten national security," and that President Biden agreed with that determination. The Biden administration said it would take a number of actions to address the threat, but tariffs and quotas are not

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has announced several actions related to the activities of Chinese companies in Florida, including on data practices and land purchases.

This past week, CTM covered the following issues. In China: * International meetings with the GCC and South Korea * Launch of an expiry review of a countervailing duty and a report to the WTO on existing countervailing duties * Officials expressed concern about U.S. legislation that discriminates against Chinese products * The

The Chinese foreign minister and his GCC counterparts met this week, with the two sides agreeing to "reach [] common ground" on a trade agreement "at an early date."

A spokesperson for China's Ministry of Commerce has raised concerns about the discrimination against foreign products that is part of the electric vehicle tax credits in the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).

At a Congressional hearing earlier this week, a Republican Congressman pressed several banking executives about their willingness to do business with China.