According to Reuters, "China offered on Thursday to mediate in stalled efforts to engage the Afghan Taliban in peace negotiations, reflecting its desire to play a more active role in a region it sees as part of its sphere of influence...Afghanistan and its Western backers have been... 'China is ready to play its constructive role and will provide necessary facilitation at any time if it is required by various parties in Afghanistan.' China's relationship with Pakistan, where it is heavily involved in projects including the nuclear sector, is often seen as a counterweight to India's influence in the region, with Afghanistan a playing field for proxy forces backed by each side." 

Reuters writes, "A lawsuit filed against four Chinese mining executives accused of destroying a stretch of forest is shaping up as a test of China's strengthened environmental law and the ability of green groups to make companies more accountable for their actions. Environmentalists hope the case will prompt a wave of legal action across China, where discontent is rising over a growth-at-all-costs economic model that has spoiled much of the country's water, skies and soil...The amendments, the first changes to China's environmental legislation in 25 years, enshrined tougher punishment for polluters as part of China's declared war on pollution. They also apply to acts committed before the changes took effect." 

"The U.S. opened a new front in a long string of trade disputes with China, challenging a broad program Beijing uses to subsidize export businesses. U.S. officials say the subsidy program, benefiting seven industries ranging from textiles to seafood, gives Chinese companies a small but crucial advantage in exports, contrary to the rules of the World Trade Organization. The new WTO case comes as the Obama administration is seeking to negotiate a 12-nation trade bloc among Pacific nations, not including China. President Barack Obama last month said the Pacific agreement would help ensure China doesn't write the rules of trade in the rapidly growing Asia-Pacific economic zone. Successfully enforcing existing trade rules, especially broad subsidies that affect diverse industries and congressional districts, may help the administration make the case for the Pacific deal, known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership, and legislation needed to ease its passage," reports The Wall Street Journal.