A new report from the Congressional Research Service (CRS) on the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) highlights concerns over China's growing engagement with Africa in relation to this new agreement.

In a regulatory update that appears to respond to controversy over a planned Chinese investment in a corn wet milling plant in Grand Forks, North Dakota, the U.S. Treasury Department is proposing to add eight new military bases to a list that restricts foreign investment in U.S. real

Chinese battery company Putailai New Energy Technology (PTL) announced that it will build a facility in Sweden to be part of the battery production supply chain in the region.

Last week, various members of Congress raised the issue of labor rights abuses in the supply chains of SHEIN and several and other companies, writing to both U.S. government agencies and the companies themselves.

Last week, a group of European Union member states issued a paper raising concerns about medicine shortages, and in that context criticizing dependence on China for inputs used in those products.

This past week, CTM covered the following issues. In China: * Trade and other cooperation with Myanmar * Industry opposition to Japanese export controls * Extension of anti-dumping duties on optical fiber * Journal article examines Chinese international investment agreements In the U.S.: * Democratic Senators call for competition with China * Republican Senators push

Without providing further details, top trade officials in the United States and Taiwan both put a positive spin on the ongoing trade negotiations that were launched last summer. A Taiwanese official indicated that the trade talks are at the tail-end of the first phase of negotiations.