The European Commission set out the conditions on Monday under which China-based electric vehicle makers can replace EU tariffs with commitments to sell at minimum prices, reports Reuters. The commission also said it would take into account Chinese EV investments in the bloc.

For Beijing, the tariffs of up to 35.3% on EVs are the biggest source of trade tensions with the EU. Brussels, meanwhile, is seeking to protect Europe’s auto industry from an influx of cheaper imports produced by the likes of BYD and Geely.

The two sides have held a series of talks to seek an alternative to the levies. China favours minimum price commitments from producers, and the Commission said that, following talks with the Chinese commerce ministry, it had issued written guidance on how minimum price offers could replace tariffs. The EU executive is still requiring that any offered prices eliminate the harmful effects of subsidies, have an effect equivalent to duties, be practicable and minimise cross-compensation.

Beijing has announced that one of its top priorities for 2026 is tightening export controls and safe-guarding supply chain resilience. The announcement made by the Ministry of Commerce said it would “tighten the safety net for opening up”, as it pledged to enhance legal frameworks and risk prevention.

Chinese leadership has been increasingly using export controls on critical technology and resources amid trade, supply-chain and diplomatic disputes. Notably, it recently announced a ban on dual-use exports to users in Japan with military ties. 

As both China and the US are implementing more and more controls on what they view as sensitive tech and resources from getting into the hands of their counterparts, we are heading towards an ever-more bifurcated world. 

Mainland China’s retail and retail property sectors have suffered another blow amid a fresh wave of store closures by foreign and Hong Kong brands, reports the South China Morning Post. High-profile closures include Lane Crawford, Ikea, Triumph, Zara and Zara Home.

Multinational furniture retailer Ikea said seven mainland stores would cease operations from February 2. As of December 31, German lingerie maker Triumph Group International had closed all of its bricks-and-mortar stores on the mainland. Spanish retailer Zara Home closed its last two stores in Changsha and Hangzhou, in June and July 2025, respectively. Its sister company, fast-fashion retailer Zara, last year shut down more than 10 mainland stores, mostly in second-tier cities, following store closures in previous years. Still, Zara opened some large-scale stores at prime locations in cities like Shanghai.

The average vacancy rate of premium shopping centres in Beijing edged up again by the end of the third quarter in 2025, when it rose 1.6 percentage points quarter on quarter to 8.6%. That was affected by factors such as the launch of new projects, according to property consultancy Savills. Over the same quarter, the average rent of premium retail properties in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen fell 2.4% quarter on quarter, according to data from real estate services firm JLL.

China’s top-tier cities struggled with a worsening glut of premium office space in 2025, as new supply outpaced demand by more than double, reports Caixin.

The oversupply was most severe in the southern tech capital of Shenzhen, where the supply-demand ratio soared to 2.7 to 1—far higher than levels in other major markets. Muted demand has weighed on these cities’ leasing capacity for four consecutive years. Net absorption of Grade A office space across Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen—a measure of the net change in occupied office space over a given period—peaked at 3.34 million square meters in 2021 but declined sharply to about 1.1 to 1.2 million square meters annually since 2022.

The enduring softness reflects broader headwinds in China’s commercial real estate market, where a slowing economy and previous construction booms have shifted landlords’ focus from returns to occupancy. Net absorption across the four cities totalled 1.18 million square meters in 2025, down 3.2% from the previous year and nearly 65% below the 2021 peak.

The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has carved out targeted exemptions from its sweeping drone import ban, allowing select foreign-manufactured drones and components to remain in the US market, while reinforcing its hardline stance against Chinese suppliers, reports Caixin.

The exemptions, announced January 7, refine a broader prohibition imposed in December 2025 over national security concerns. The new rules enable drone makers from allied nations to access the US market, further isolating China’s dominant drone industry.

Under the adjustment, certain drone models and components will be exempt from the ban and may continue to be sold in the US through January 1, 2027. The FCC had previously listed all foreign-made drones on its Covered List as of December 22, 2025, citing unacceptable risks to national security and the safety of US personnel.