Today, Chinese Premier Li Qiang met with Australian Prime Minister Albanese on the sideline of the East Asia Summit. In the meantime, the China-Australia first high-level dialogue took place in Beijing. The increase in high level communications shows a thaw in bilateral relations, which has been reflected in China'

This statement came after China signed the first FTA that contains negative lists for services trade and investment.

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani visited China this week, and issues related to bilateral trade and the Beijing-led Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) were among the topics discussed.

Last month, the Beijing government issued a ruling that imposes a US$1.5 million penalty on due-diligence firm Mintz, and provided some details on the legal reasoning behind the investigation that shocked many western businesses and observers.

Today, China and Nicaragua signed a free trade agreement after four rounds of negotiations that took place over the past year. The agreement has 22 chapters, including four chapters on services trade and investment.

During this week's trip to China, U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo discussed export controls, China's business environment and U.S.-China trade relations at meetings with Chinese officials and made additional statements in media interviews. Here are some highlights of her statements.

U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo is visiting China this week and meeting with her Chinese counterpart. The meeting offered both sides a chance to discuss contentious issues, including export controls, and to create four new mechanisms for communication.