Ever since President Trump began raising tariffs on goods from China during his first term, Chinese companies have raced to set up warehouses and factories in Southeast Asia, Mexico and elsewhere to bypass U.S. tariffs with indirect shipments to the American market via other countries, the New York Times reported. But on Thursday, Mr. Trump took aim at all indirect American imports, which he blames for part of the $1.2 trillion U.S. trade deficit. The president imposed 40 percent tariffs on so-called transshipments, which will take effect in a week.

Chinese leaders signaled they would refrain from rolling out more major stimulus for now, as authorities pivot to addressing excess capacity in the economy, the Wall Street Journal reported. Instead of announcing more policy support to bolster growth, the ruling Communist Party’s Politburo, China’s top policymaking body, pledged Wednesday to better execute policies that are already in place, according to a readout by state-run Xinhua News Agency.

A tactic used by Chinese automakers and dealers to inflate car sales has grown increasingly common in recent years in response to a bruising price war in the world's largest auto market, a Reuters analysis of consumer complaints has found, Reuters reported. Earlier this month, Reuters reported EV brands Neta and Zeekr had arranged for cars to be insured before buyers purchased them, a scheme that effectively inflates sales numbers and gives the appearance the companies were hitting periodic targets.

A Hong Kong conglomerate that had agreed to sell its two ports at the Panama Canal said Monday it may seek a Chinese investor to join a consortium of buyers, a move that could please Beijing but bring more U.S. scrutiny to the geopolitically fraught deal, the Associated Press reported. CK Hutchison Holdings’ initial plan to sell port assets in dozens of countries to a group that includes U.S. investment firm BlackRock Inc. pleased U.S. President Donald Trump, who has alleged that China interferes with the critical shipping lane’s operations in Panama.

China released a draft amendment to its pricing law on Thursday as part of efforts to curb excessive competition and price wars among firms, amid persistent deflationary pressures, Reuters reported. Chinese leaders have signaled they will rein in price wars among producers as expectations grow for a new round of factory capacity cuts in a long-awaited but challenging campaign against deflation - a move that could pose risks to economic growth.

China's commerce ministry called on Canada to correct the "wrong practice" of restrictions on steel imports and said in a statement on Friday it would take necessary measures to safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese firms, Reuters reported.

Major automakers should push for "rational competition" in the electric vehicle industry, a senior Chinese official said on Thursday, according to a statement from the industry ministry published on Friday, Reuters reported. The comments from Che Jun, head of a Communist Party central leading group, came a day after China's cabinet pledged to regulate what it called "irrational" competition in the EV market and vowed to strengthen price-monitoring. Che Jun spoke at a meeting attended by officials from the industry ministry and representatives from automakers BYD and BAIC Group.

The U.S. Commerce Department imposed preliminary anti-dumping duties of 93.5% on Chinese imports of graphite, a key battery component, after concluding the materials had been unfairly subsidized, Bloomberg News reported. A trade association representing US graphite producers in December filed petitions with two federal agencies, asking for investigations into whether Chinese companies were violating anti-dumping laws. The new duties will add to existing rates making the effective tariff 160%, according to American Active Anode Material Producers, the trade group that filed the complaint.

China’s government is threatening to block a deal that would transfer ownership of dozens of seaports to Western investors if Cosco, China’s largest shipping company, doesn’t get a stake, the Wall Street Journal reported. The proposed sale includes two ports at the Panama Canal and more than 40 others around the world, all owned by Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison. China is pushing for state-owned Cosco to be an equal partner and shareholder of the ports with BlackRock and Mediterranean Shipping Co., a containership operator.