In late December, China's Ministry of Commerce reached a preliminary ruling imposing anti-subsidy duties as high as 42.7% on European Union dairy imports.

In late December, China imposed sanctions on twenty U.S. defense companies and ten executives in retaliation for a new approval by the U.S. government of arms sales to Taiwan.

After China notified the WTO's Safeguards Committee of a finding of serious injury or threat thereof to its domestic beef industry as part of a safeguards investigation, the U.S. and Australia pushed back with requests for consultations under the Safeguards Agreement.

In late December, the U.S. Trade Representative's Office (USTR) quietly announced, without even issuing a press release, that it had determined that China's policies and practices in the semiconductor sector were unreasonable, and also burdened or restricted U.S. commerce, and that tariffs would be

On December 31, China concluded its safeguard investigation on beef, with a new tariff-rate-quota mechanism effective on January 1, 2026.

The U.S. Commerce Department's final determination in a countervailing duty case involving file folders from Cambodia has found that subsidies from the Government of China can be considered as part of the assessment of foreign subsidies.

China has filed its second WTO complaint against India in recent months, targeting both clean energy policies and broader industrialization policies.