China made headway with CPTPP, but had setback on trade pact with Europe.

The COVID-19 pandemic has sent the world into perilous, uncharted territory from which no country will emerge unscathed. Over half of the global population is under some form of lockdown. All economies, rich and poor, are falling into recession and can limit the fallout only by working together.

Washington must be careful in assessing the possible impacts of the novel coronavirus outbreak -- particularly in the implemenation of the phase one trade deal. The U.S. needs to give China a certain degree of flexibility.

A recent report by Mackenzie said that the country’s dependence on the world has shrunk, even as the world’s dependence on Chinese production and exports has continued to rise.

The deepening US-China trade war poses a significant challenge to the health of the global economy A new global recession could push both sides to the negotiating table, or it could provoke another wave of retrenchment and protectionism.

We are currently headed into an unprecedented crisis in the world trading system that is not simply rooted in bad laws, weak institutions, reckless leaders or rogue nations; it is rooted in wrongheaded theories. The looming U.S.-China trade war is one of the real consequences of this.

As oil can now be traded with RMB-denominated contracts, the rise of the petroyuan will accelerate the internationalization of the Chinese currency as investors begin to increase their allocations into Chinese financial assets.

The world is not totally dark and the forces of free trade and globalization remain strong. China stands firm and holds the banner of free trade high.

Trump’s trade belligerence is damaging the house America built.

If effective policy measures can't be taken to contain it, the risks to the world economy caused by the escalation of protectionism could severely disturb the world in 2018.