Beijing announced today that it will resume imports of sugar apples from Taiwan. This is a mini-step toward the thawing of economic relations across the strait, although trade frictions over agricultural goods are broader and will require more time and effort to resolve.

China's commerce minister Wang Shouwen said at a recent event that China is currently pushing ahead with the process of joining the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).

On June 15, China's customs agency lifted decade-long bans on Polish and Belgian beef. The impact of the announcement on trade in these products remains an open question.

China's Embassy in Canada pushed back against recent criticism of the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), as well as a Canadian official's comments on "de-risk[ing]" and "authoritarian regimes."

At today's press conference, an official from China's Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) vowed more China-Arab collaboration. This came after the conclusion of the Arab-China business conference, at which over 20 agreements and deals were signed.

The U.S. Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security sanctioned 31 Chinese entities, as well as some entities in a number of third countries on the basis of their ties to the Chinese military, putting these companies under tighter export control rules.

As part of Honduran President Xiomara Castro's China trip this week, the two governments announced that they are ready for trade negotiations. China also gave a green light to some Honduran agricultural products so they can be sold in China.