China made headway with CPTPP, but had setback on trade pact with Europe.

Reserves expanded to seven-month high of $3.099 trillion.

China’s top officials pledged to lower tariffs and expedite debt sales in 2019 as they seek to manage an economic slowdown while tackling the trade standoff with the U.S.

In light of growing uncertainty toward the neoliberal economic infrastructure, Chinese economic reforms could defuse the tension threatening this system.

Either China will revise its industrial policy to allow U.S. companies reciprocal market access, or the tariffs will cause U.S. companies to disengage from China and bring manufacturing back to the U.S., or source imports from countries that do not pose a long-term threat to U.S. security.

The “informal summit” between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the end of April will likely be extremely consequential. The “Chindian reset” could well be a new beginning that allows the most dynamic region in the world to claim a “pacific” new Asian Century.

Many countries, not just the United States, are disadvantaged by China’s unfair trade practices. Rather than confront the challenge alone, the United States should work to address the problem as a team sport. Doing so would be more effective and less costly than hoping U.S.-China tit-for-tat tariffs do not do significant harm to American workers, but do lead to a change in China’s economic policies.

The escalating trade tensions between the United States and China have grabbed global attention since late March, and many are worried that globalization is being challenged by unilateralism. To tackle this issue, it is necessary to take the road of globalization and openness.

As oil can now be traded with RMB-denominated contracts, the rise of the petroyuan will accelerate the internationalization of the Chinese currency as investors begin to increase their allocations into Chinese financial assets.

The world is not totally dark and the forces of free trade and globalization remain strong. China stands firm and holds the banner of free trade high.