Two Chinese battery materials makers recently announced investment plans in Europe and Africa to meet the growing global demand.

In a white paper released today, Beijing outlined its vision for globalization, criticizing "protectionism, the erection of fences and barriers, unilateral sanctions, and maximum-pressure tactics," as well as "de-sinicization in the name of derisking."

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani visited China this week, and issues related to bilateral trade and the Beijing-led Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) were among the topics discussed.

The U.S. Commerce Department has announced a proposed rule that would eliminate the current regulation preventing it from countervailing "transnational" or "cross-border" subsidies, with China's BRI subsidies a likely target of any new countervailing duties.

Legislation introduced in the U.S. Senate would expand the scope for reviewing Chinese investments in the United States to include all real estate purchases that are for the purpose of establishing a business, and, at least formally, ties this new restriction to the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

As part of Honduran President Xiomara Castro's China trip this week, the two governments announced that they are ready for trade negotiations. China also gave a green light to some Honduran agricultural products so they can be sold in China.

Earlier this week, U.S. Senators Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Todd Young (R-IN) introduced the Leveling the Playing Field 2.0 Act, which they characterize as "bipartisan legislation to strengthen U.S. trade remedy laws and ensure they remain effective tools to fight back against unfair trade practices and