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%.

With oil prices surging and the conflict in the Middle East intensifying, the economic stakes for China are rising, the New York Times reported. The cost of oil on Monday hit levels not seen in four years, one week after the United States and Israel launched an attack on Iran, an ally and financial partner to China. Fighting has halted virtually all traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical passageway for China’s energy and goods. China has a lot to lose in a widening conflict. In Iran, China found a cheap source of oil in recent years.

Every March, China’s leaders gather in Beijing’s Great Hall of the People to announce how much the world’s second-largest economy is expected to grow that year. It doesn’t change much from year to year. The target for 2026 was set on Thursday at between 4.5 percent and 5 percent. It was the first time in more than three decades that the benchmark was placed below the 5 percent mark, and represents an official acknowledgment that China is on a slower growth path.