President Donald Trump signed a memorandum authorizing Robert Lighthizer, the US trade representative, to determine whether to investigate on complaints that U.S. companies were "involuntarily" transferring core technologies to China in order to secure market access.

In warfare one seeks surrender, but in world affairs one seeks solutions.

In the past decade, China has increasingly been perceived in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) as a country which could bring economic benefits to the region through developing trade relations, growing inflow of Chinese investment and recently also through infrastructure projects.

The Chinese government hopes to create “a sincerity culture” and raise “honest mentality and credit levels of the entire society” through the Social Credit System. However, this system may evolve into a large-scale political tool. The system can be used to ensure citizens, private companies, public officials, and state institutions abide by the rules.

On November 14, 2017, Pakistan dropped its bid to have the Diamer-Bhasha Dam financed under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) framework. The current Chairman of Pakistan’s Water & Power Development Authority has claimed that the conditions stated by the Chinese for financing Diamer-Bhasha “were not doable and against our interests.” These conditions included the Chinese ownership of the project, including operation and maintenance, and the securitization of the Diamer-Bhasha project by pledging another operational dam.

The China-US Focus team has launched a new microsite that explores the trade relationship between China and the United States, including the remarkable benefits US-China trade offers.

Tax cuts masquerading as tax reform are the best way to describe the thrust of Washington’s latest policy gambit. The case is largely political – namely, the urgency of a Republican Congress to deliver a legislative victory for a Republican president. The consequences, however, are ultimately economic – and, unsurprisingly, likely to be far worse than the politicians are willing to admit.

At the 19th Communist Party Congress, President Xi signaled a move away from the longstanding tradition of setting annual GDP growth targets. This shift reflects a necessary recognition of China’s transition away from the ultra-rapid growth rates of the previous three decades. However, this policy change may also signal a desire to minimize perverse incentives for local party officials to distort economic data and pursue otherwise-useless development projects to boost growth figures.

China led the way on innovative cooperation at the APEC summit, as the U.S. and Japan faltered.

The trade deals signed during Trump’s recent visit to China represent a step in the right direction, but they won’t alter trade dynamics between the two countries.