In China’s northeastern grain belt, farmers are getting a windfall from the government: more subsidies to grow soybeans, part of an estimated $1 trillion national effort to declare economic independence from the U.S., the Wall Street Journal reported. More than 7,500 miles away, in Milwaukee, the industrial-parts manufacturer Husco is scrambling to use fewer Chinese-made components in its U.S. factories, as the Trump administration wields tariffs to reduce imports and try to resurrect American manufacturing.

The Chinese company operating ports at the Panama Canal has filed for arbitration after the country’s Supreme Court voided its operating contract, claiming it was unfairly targeted by the country over the past year, Freight Waves reported. Panama Ports Company, a unit of Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison, said on Wednesday that it has commenced arbitration proceedings against Panama over its concession contract at the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris.

China's property market, which at its peak once accounted for a quarter of the world's second-largest economy, has been struggling with a debt crisis since mid-2021 that has seen swathes of developers default on payments, Reuters reported. There have been some upbeat signs for the market this year, but developers and analysts urge caution. In January, authorities reportedly ended the "three red lines" policy of caps on debt ratios put in place to rein in borrowing - rules which sparked the debt crisis.

China has been flooding Latin American markets with low-priced exports, especially cars and e-commerce goods, as its exporters adjust to US President Donald Trump’s tariffs and geopolitical moves, EuroNews.com reported. The world’s second-largest economy has become a major trading partner for many Latin American nations, seeking access to their abundant natural resources and growing markets while expanding its influence in a region Trump views as America’s backyard.

President Donald Trump threatened Canada with 100% tariffs against all its exports to the US if it makes a trade deal with China, escalating tensions between the U.S. and its northern neighbor, Bloomberg News reported. Trump, referring to Prime Minister Mark Carney as “Governor Carney,” said the Canadian leader was “sorely mistaken” for opening up his country to more business from China, including a recent deal allowing an increase in Chinese electric vehicle exports.

Prime Minister Mark Carney's new approach to Canada's foreign policy can perhaps be distilled in one line: "We take the world as it is, not as we wish it to be," BBC.com reported. That was his response when asked about the deal struck with China on Friday, despite concerns over its human rights record and nearly a year after he called China "the biggest security threat" facing Canada. The deal will see Canada ease tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles that it imposed in tandem with the US in 2024. In exchange, China will lower retaliatory tariffs on key Canadian agricultural products.

China announced on Wednesday the world’s largest trade surplus ever, even adjusting for inflation, as a tsunami of exports flooded markets around the world last year, the New York Times reported. China’s surplus, the value of goods and services it sold abroad versus its imports, reached $1.19 trillion, an increase of 20 percent from 2024, according to data released by the country’s General Administration of Customs. The number had already exceeded $1 trillion through November.

China’s auto exports surged 21% in 2025, driven by rising shipments of electric vehicles, while domestic demand slowed, an industry association said Wednesday, the Associated Press reported. Confronted with grueling competition in an overcrowded domestic market, Chinese auto manufacturers have stepped up sales around the globe. As they expanded further into overseas markets last year, exports of new energy vehicles such as EVs and plug-in hybrids doubled from the previous year to 2.6 million units, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.