As part of an annual review of China's compliance with WTO obligations, a number of business groups have made submissions to the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR), setting out their experiences and the trade barriers they face in the Chinese market.

Last week, two Republican members of Congress introduced legislation that would impose sanctions on Yangtze Memory Technologies Co. (YMTC) and other Chinese chipmakers.

This past week, CTM covered the following issues. In China: * Official efforts to stabilize foreign investment and boost trade * A debt restructuring with Ecuador, restored railway service with North Korea * Authorization of imports of aquatic products from Papua New Guinea * Chinese EV maker's investment in foreign lithium project

Chinese electronic vehicle (EV) maker NIO is making a big investment to secure its access to lithium, a raw material used in EV batteries.

The discussion of U.S. legislative or executive action on outbound investment screening, with a focus on American investments in China, is heating up.

In a letter sent to several Biden administration officials, Representative Carlos Gimenez (R-FL) led a group of 51 Republicans in raising concerns over "the recent acquisition of farmland near a U.S. military installation by a Chinese-based manufacturer with close links to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)."

A Chinese commerce official recently said that China's trade is facing growing uncertainties. In response, the Chinese government announced several measures to boost trade, including some to facilitate cross-border e-commerce.