China's Ministry of Commerce today announced sanctions against two European Union banks, both headquartered in Lithuania. The move comes as direct retaliation after the EU sanctioned two Chinese financial institutions last month as part of its 18th package of sanctions against Russia.

China has sanctioned former Philippine Senate majority leader Francis Tolentino, accusing him of "egregious conduct" detrimental to Beijing's interests, and has banned him from entering mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macao.

Beijing has further ratcheted up its rhetoric against a new U.S. policy to curb the use of Chinese advanced chips and explicitly threatened to invoke Chinese laws, including the Anti-Foreign Sanctions Law, in retaliation. While details of enforcement remain unclear on both sides, this direct policy clash is poised

As part of the trade war truce between the U.S. and China, Beijing has announced a temporary suspension of key retaliatory measures targeting American companies.

As one positive element emerging from last weekend's bilateral talks, China has agreed to suspend or remove some non-tariff retaliatory measures, although the specific measures that are covered have not been identified yet. Meanwhile, a number of tariff and non-tariff measures, including export control and sanctions measures, will

Beijing is threatening to retaliate against ongoing U.S. lawsuits that seek to hold the Chinese government accountable for the COVID-19 pandemic. An 8,000-word report released by the government calls the lawsuits "politically motivated" and "absurd," and indicates China has various countermeasures at its disposal.

In the latest round of the trade war, China has retaliated against the U.S. 84% tariff rate with its own 84% tariff, and has made a few new sanctions announcements as well.