A business tycoon long sought by the government of China, and known for cultivating ties to Trump administration figures including Steve Bannon, was arrested Wednesday in New York on charges that he oversaw a $1 billion fraud conspiracy, the Associated Press reported. Guo Wengui, 54, was accused along with his financier and chief of staff of various crimes, including wire and securities fraud. He was charged in court papers under the name Ho Wan Kwok. U.S.

European planemaker Airbus is negotiating a new round of plane orders with China, coinciding with a visit by French President Emmanuel Macron to the economic superpower later this week, government and industry sources said, Reuters reported. The potential deal for dozens of jets comes amid worsening relations between Washington and Beijing, which have seen China's usually balanced airplane imports tilt towards Airbus in recent years.

A gauge of activity in China’s services sector reached its highest level in more than a decade in March, a sign that Chinese consumers are heading back to stores and restaurants, powering an economic recovery following the end of almost three years of strict COVID-19 controls, the Wall Street Journal reported. The reading represents a promising signal for the global economy, which depends on Chinese consumers to prop up growth this year as their counterparts in the U.S.

Chinese authorities opened a probe into former Bank of China Ltd. Chairman Liu Liange, the most senior banker to become implicated in a broad crackdown on corruption in the financial sector that was unleashed in late 2021, Bloomberg News reported. Liu is suspected of “serious violations of discipline and law,” the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the State Supervision Commission said in a one-sentence statement. Liu is among the highest-ranking financial executives to be targeted in President Xi Jinping’s clampdown on the financial sector.