China called for all "unilateral" U.S. tariffs to be cancelled on Thursday, as signs emerged that the Trump administration may de-escalate its trade war with Beijing, Reuters reported. China also clarified that it has not held trade talks with Washington despite repeated comments from the U.S. government suggesting there had been engagement. U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly said that the U.S. will have a deal with China and on Wednesday said there was "direct contact" between both countries.

The U.S. is moving forward with a plan to charge fees on Chinese ships calling at American ports, part of the Trump administration’s effort to counter China’s dominance in ocean shipping and revive the domestic maritime industry, the Wall Street Journal reported. The U.S. Trade Representative’s office on Thursday released the plan to charge steep fees on Chinese-owned and operated ships, and lower fees on Chinese-built vessels operated by non-Chinese carriers. Ships will be charged for each voyage to the U.S. and not for each call at a U.S.

Chinese authorities have asked e-commerce platform operators to stop insisting on merchants refunding customers without requiring the return of goods, to alleviate financial pressure on merchants, Reuters reported. The government met operators including PDD Holdings and concluded the practice must end by July, from which point only merchants will be able to initiate a refund.

The United States sells more soybeans to China, by value, than any other single product. Last year, that amounted to more than 27 million metric tons, worth $12.8 billion, or about 9 cents of every dollar of goods the United States sold to China, the New York Times reported. But with the enormous tariffs erected between the two countries over the past two weeks, those sales are likely to suffer soon. That is bad news for the American farmers who grow soybeans and the Chinese chicken and hog farmers who buy them — and potentially very good news for the nation ready to step in: Brazil.

China’s state-owned AVIC Trust Co. has requested operational support from two fellow trust firms after delaying payments on its investment products, Mitrade.com reported. The call for help comes at a time when the nation’s $3.7 trillion trust industry is struggling. AVIC Trust will become the first state-owned trust firm placed in custody since China’s Trust Law was enacted in 2001. According to a Bloomberg exclusive on Monday, the Beijing-based firm announced that it had entered into a service agreement with CCB Trust Co. and SDIC Taikang Trust Co.

China’s benchmark lending rates remained unchanged again this month, with policymakers likely watching to see how the trade war with the U.S. unfolds before taking further steps to stimulate the economy, the Wall Street Journal reported. The one-year loan prime rate was left at 3.1% while the five-year rate remained at 3.6%, said the People’s Bank of China on Monday. Though the pressure posed by tariffs and continued low inflation in China back the case for policy easing, Monday’s hold was widely expected as the central bank hasn’t changed its policy rates.

China has warned countries against making trade deals with the U.S. that could hurt Beijing’s interests, the Wall Street Journal reported. “China firmly opposes any party reaching a deal at the expense of China’s interests,” the Ministry of Commerce said Monday, adding that it would respond “resolutely” with reciprocal countermeasures should such a situation arise. The ministry also said China is willing to strengthen solidarity and coordination with all parties, work together to respond to challenges, and oppose unilateral bullying.

China's state-backed funds are pulling back from investing in the funds of U.S.-headquartered private capital firms amid an escalating trade war between the world's two biggest economies, the Financial Times reported. Some of the Chinese funds are also seeking to be excluded from investments in U.S. companies made by private equity firms based elsewhere, the report, which cited seven private equity executives with knowledge of the matter, said.

A Boeing jet earmarked for China was returning to the U.S. on Friday, flight tracking data showed, as the planemaker’s flagship delivery plant outside Shanghai was drawn into a deepening tariff war between Beijing and Washington, CNBC reported. The return of one of several jets waiting for final work and handover to a Chinese carrier at the completion center in Zhoushan is the latest sign of disruption to deliveries from a breakdown in the industry’s decades-old duty-free status. In a sign that Boeing was preparing for normal business just weeks before U.S.