G7 leaders in Evian-les-Bains will focus on AI model access today, with CEOs from major AI firms attending. European officials express concern over US directives restricting foreign nationals' access to AI models, citing national security. Meanwhile, US President Trump may send Iran agreement details to Congress.
Western policymakers claim China has 'overcapacity' in steel, EVs, and green tech, flooding markets with subsidized goods. However, economic data suggests otherwise, with China's capacity utilization for ferrous metals within healthy EU ranges. The EU and US employ double standards, using arbitrary metrics and bypassing the WTO to impose protectionist measures.
Russian Ambassador to China Igor Morgulov stated that nearly all Russia-China trade is conducted in rubles and yuan, with bilateral trade turnover exceeding $200 billion for three consecutive years and growing over 20% this year. Both nations oppose protectionism and have numerous joint investment projects.
China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning urged the EU on June 4 to view China-EU economic and trade relations objectively, reject protectionism, and expand cooperation for mutual benefit. She stated that trade protectionism harms all parties and that European companies' continued investment in China is the strongest response to 'de-risking' narratives.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic warned the EU that protectionism is hurting its growth and making it complacent against global competition from China and the US. He secured over $1 billion in Chinese investment pledges for Serbia.
European auto suppliers may benefit from Chinese EV makers' expansion into the EU, driven by demand and local protectionist measures. Vulcan Energy Resources highlights opportunities for local inputs like batteries and lithium, despite EU restrictions on foreign investment.
China’s top diplomat on the US-Mexico border denounced protectionism as a dead end at the weekend, delivering a pointed defence of open trade just weeks before Mexico, the United States and Canada sit down to review the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) that governs North American commerce. Consul General Fu Xinrong told a business gathering in Tijuana that unilateralism benefits no one and called on nations to build economic ties based on sovereignty and mutual respect rather than...
China’s top diplomat on the US-Mexico border denounced protectionism as a dead end at the weekend, delivering a pointed defence of open trade just weeks before Mexico, the United States and Canada sit down to review the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) that governs North American commerce. Consul General Fu Xinrong told a business gathering in Tijuana that unilateralism benefits no one and called on nations to build economic ties based on sovereignty and mutual respect rather than...
The international order is under mounting strain. In recent years, unilateralism, protectionism and the selective application of international law have eroded confidence in the rules-based frameworks that once underpinned global cooperation. The return of Donald Trump to the centre of American politics, along with the policy instincts the US president represents, has only reinforced concerns that the United States may continue to privilege narrow domestic calculations over international...
Chinese scholars must sharpen their focus on the internal conflicts reshaping the United States if they are to help Beijing navigate its rivalry with Washington, according to a prominent academic. These crises include shifts in political culture, heightened racial tensions, the unsustainability of the country’s economic and fiscal model and the widespread influence of protectionism and populism, according to Ni Feng, a researcher and former director of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences’...
China's State Administration for Market Regulation announced a pilot program in seven regions (Beijing, Hebei, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Henan, Sichuan, Guangdong) to force the exit of unprofitable zombie companies. Under a Company Law amendment, regulators can petition courts for compulsory liquidation of firms that fail to wind up voluntarily. Experts say the initiative will likely clear smaller dormant private firms but will have limited impact on larger state-linked zombies supported by local governments and banks.
Risks existing in global trade are growing protectionism and volatility in financial markets, Maxim Reshetnikov noted
The West’s narrative of Chinese “overcapacity” is a double standard, said a former chief economist of the World Bank as he urged advanced economies to draw on “Eastern wisdom” rather than protectionism to navigate the rise of hi-tech competition. Justin Lin Yifu, a prominent advocate of Beijing’s industrial policy, dismissed claims that China’s auto-export surge was a sign of industrial imbalance. Speaking at Hong Kong Chu Hai College, Lin drew a contrast with Germany to expose a logical...
People's Bank of China Governor Pan Gongsheng urged the IMF to take a clear stand against protectionism and defend multilateralism at the fund's 53rd International Monetary and Financial Committee meeting in Washington. Pan warned that escalating geopolitical conflicts, including the US-Israeli war on Iran and the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz since February 28, are dragging down global growth, exacerbating financial market volatility and threatening energy and food security, particularly for developing countries.
