Over the weekend, Wang Yi, China's Minister of Foreign Affairs, made remarks at the Munich Security Conference and took several questions from Christoph Heusgen, the Chairman of the conference, dealing with trade and economic issues, although broader foreign policy issues were the main focus.

News reports indicate that certain Volkswagen luxury brands have seen imports into the U.S. held up at ports due to concerns about components made in Xinjiang using forced labor.

At a U.S. House of Representatives hearing last week, several Biden administration officials testified about enforcement of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA), discussing issues such as de minimis shipments and application of the law to seafood imports.

Litigation by Chinese company Ninestar and its subsidiaries over a U.S. government decision to include them on the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) Entity List continues, with new briefs filed by both sides.

There were two developments related to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) Entity List last week: The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced the addition of three Chinese companies to the Entity List; and Ninestar filed an amended complaint related to its inclusion on the list.

Two members of Congress on a China Commission are pressing retailers Costco and ADI on their sale of products from Chinese companies whose products are connected to allegations of human rights abuses in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.

In a recent anti-dumping and countervailing duties investigation on optical fibre cables from China, the UK's Trade Remedy Authority (TRA) recommended imposing anti-dumping and countervailing duties, and in its reasoning in the anti-dumping case it took into account Chinese government influence over the industry and labor policies.