China said on Wednesday that Mexico's trade measures against it, including tariff increases, ​constitute trade and investment barriers and that it had ‌the right to take countermeasures, Reuters reported. The import duty hikes affect more than $30 billion worth of Chinese exports to Mexico, and could lead to estimated losses ​of about $9.4 billion to China's mechanical and electrical sectors, ​the Chinese Ministry of Commerce said in its conclusion ⁠of an investigation into the measures.

A unit of Hong Kong conglomerate CK Hutchison said on Tuesday it had widened its claims in ‌an international arbitration case against Panama, saying damages had now risen to more ‌than $2 billion, Reuters reported. Panama Ports Company, which for nearly three decades operated the Balboa and Cristobal terminals near the ​Panama Canal, said it had supplemented its claims in proceedings under the International Chamber of Commerce's arbitration rules, a month after what it described as the state's illegal takeover of two port terminals and company property.

While there is currently no countrywide legal route to a financial fresh start in China, some provinces and cities have begun piloting local equivalents of a bankruptcy law, The Straits Times reported. That gap has drawn growing attention in China, where scholars, judges and policymakers – including during the country’s national parliamentary meetings in March – have renewed calls for a nationwide personal bankruptcy system to give failed entrepreneurs a legal way to start again. China adopted an enterprise bankruptcy law in 2006, but it applies only to companies, not individuals.

China Evergrande liquidators’ lawsuit to claw back funds from the builder’s auditors will finally reach its first public court hearing in May, about two years after being filed, Bloomberg reported. The parties in the case — China Evergrande Group (in liquidation) and PricewaterhouseCoopers International — will gather in the Hong Kong High Court on May 18, according to the court schedule on its website. The hearing will focus on whether PricewaterhouseCoopers International can strike out the claims, it said.

China’s economy got off to a solid start this year but that momentum may prove hard to sustain as the world’s largest oil importer navigates the conflict in the Middle East and continued pressures at home, the Wall Street Journal reported. Data on Monday showed retail sales got a lift over January-February thanks to the extended Lunar New Year holiday, while industrial production rebounded on surging exports. Fixed-asset investment meanwhile improved after a decline last year.

China's economy began the year on a firmer footing as factory output quickened while retail sales and ​investment rebounded in January-February, offering early relief for policymakers as the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran injects fresh uncertainty for growth, Reuters reported. The resilience followed a surge in exports driven by booming AI-related ‌technology demand, which also buoyed upstream manufacturing, although analysts cautioned of risks to the outlook from geopolitical tensions, fragile consumer confidence and strains in global trade and energy markets.

Chinese lenders plan to steer more money toward technology and innovation-oriented firms, bankers say, responding to Beijing's pledge to aggressively adopt artificial intelligence throughout the economy and dominate emerging sectors, Reuters reports. The credit-allocation shift toward tech is ​well underway and is set to accelerate further under the government's plans, unveiled last week, to go all-in on technologies from AI, semiconductors to advanced manufacturing, ‌they said.

China’s domestic passenger car sales fell sharply in February from a year earlier, industry figures showed Wednesday, reflecting weakening demand as some trade-in subsidies are phased out, Bloomberg News reported. Only 950,000 units of passenger cars were sold in China last month, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, down from nearly 1.4 million vehicles sold in January. It was the fourth straight month of year-on-year declines.

China's exports jumped nearly 22% in the first two months of the year from a year earlier, powered by a surge in shipments of computer chips, autos and electronics, the Associated Press reported. The export figures released by China’s customs agency on Tuesday were much better than economists had forecast. They far exceeded the 6.6% annual pace of growth recorded in December. Shipments to the U.S. fell 11% in January and February, narrowing from a 30% drop in December. Exports to the European Union increased almost 28% while those to Latin America climbed 16%.