"A complaint by the U.S. to the World Trade Organization accusing China of unfairly subsidizing a number of industries is 'groundless,' China's minister of commerce said Saturday, suggesting the move was part of a rising tide of protectionism. Speaking at a news conference on the sidelines of the National People's Congress, the nation's parliament, Commerce Minister Gao Hucheng said that 'trade and investment protectionism is again rearing its head,' and this reflected a weak global economy. 'China always respects WTO rules...and we will appropriately handle the case through the [WTO] dispute settlement mechanism,' ...The U.S. opened a new front in a long string of trade disputes with China last month, challenging a broad program Beijing uses to subsidize export businesses ranging from textiles to seafood," writes The Wall Street Journal. 

According to The Wall Street Journal, "China's foreign minister defended his government's efforts to reclaim and develop land around disputed reefs and islands in the South China Sea, saying the work was 'necessary' and posed no threat to other nations. 'This construction does not target or affect anyone...We are not like some countries who engage in illegal construction in another person's house, and we do not accept criticism from others when we are merely building facilities in our own yard. We have every right to do things that are lawful and justified.'...China's claims cover almost all of the South China Sea, and overlap with those of Malaysia, Vietnam, Brunei, Taiwan and the Philippines-a U.S. treaty ally. Many of those countries have bolstered defense ties with the U.S. in recent years in response to what they see as Beijing's enhanced efforts to enforce its claims." 

Reuters reports, "Foreign non-government organizations (NGOs) in China are bracing for a crackdown as the government prepares to pass a new law to regulate their activities, which critics fear could curb activism and drive out several groups. It is unclear how strictly the government will enforce the rules, which a parliament spokeswoman said last week were necessary for national security reasons. But rights activists say the new law is part of a broader trend under President Xi Jinping's administration to rein in dissent. The draft law, according to a copy seen by Reuters that was obtained by a foreign NGO, bars foreign NGOs from activities that violate "Chinese society's moral customs" and from setting up branches in China."