China's Ministry of Commerce announced last week that it would start an expiry review of anti-dumping duties applied to chemical compounds from the United States, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia and Thailand.

Speaking at the sixth China International Import Expo (CIIE), which kicked off yesterday, Chinese leaders made commitments on opening up, international agreements, and data flows. While there has been some movement in these areas, more needs to be done to overcome the downward trend of its trade and investment.

At a press conference today, the spokesperson for China's Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM), Shu Jueting, urged the EU to use trade remedy measures in a "reasonable and prudent" way and the U.S. to "lift investment restrictions on China."

Last month, China's State Council announced that it will create a free trade pilot zone in Xinjiang Uyghur autonomous region, an area that has been the source of tensions between China and the West, and turn the region into a trade hub. The official document was published yesterday,

Last month, China's General Administration of Customs (GACC) published sanitary requirements for various food imports from countries in Asia, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Central America, as China tries to boost agricultural imports.

Earlier this month, China's Ministry of Commerce started an expiry review of the anti-dumping measures on U.S. and Japanese hydriodic acid.

At the Economic and Trade Ministers' Meetings of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries and China held last week, hopes were renewed for the conclusion of a trade agreement.