Trade tensions between the US and China have made companies around the world less keen to invest in either country, reports the South China Morning Post citing a report from Allianz Trade. The report found the United States almost twice as unpopular as its rival.

The report, based on an annual survey by the Paris-based international insurance company, said US-China decoupling had not materialized, but investment intention towards China had dropped “significantly” to 24% of survey respondents, down from 53% a year ago. The survey tracked corporate expectations for exports, global trade and supply chains by collecting views from 6,000 companies in 13 markets before and after the US-Israel strikes on Iran in February and March.

Amid an overall decline in outbound investment appetite globally due to heightened geopolitical tensions, the US and China had “suffered the most” from the loss of potential future investment, the survey found, with the number of firms that considering the US an export growth platform dropping to 13%, down from 17% last year.

Chinese online shopping site AliExpress said it was improving controls to comply with European Union regulations, reports Reuters. This comes as European lawmakers grilled executives over ​sales of dangerous and counterfeit products in the bloc.

The EU ‌has ramped up scrutiny of fast-growing online platforms like AliExpress, Temu, and Shein which ship cheap products made in China into the bloc duty-free thanks to a waiver on low-value ​ecommerce parcels. Last month the EU opened a formal investigation into ​Shein under the Digital Services Act, its landmark regulation covering ⁠major platforms.

Alibaba-owned AliExpress, the company’s platform selling in more than 200 countries, has ​been under investigation by the European Commission since March 2024 and in June ​agreed to legally binding to improve its controls. But in November, Reuters found childlike sex dolls for sale on AliExpress, leading the platform to say it had banned the China-based seller ​of the products.

China’s domestic auto sales plunged 23.1% year-on-year in the first two months of 2026 as reduced government stimulus and sweeping policy changes dampened consumer demand, reports Caixin.

Overall domestic auto sales fell to 2.8 million vehicles in January and February, according to data released by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM). Domestic deliveries of new energy vehicles (NEVs) tumbled 27.5% to 1.1 million units, while traditional internal combustion engine vehicle sales dropped 19.8% to 1.7 million. Including exports, China’s total vehicle sales declined 8.8% year on year to 4.2 million units.

CAAM attributed the domestic sluggishness to a combination of factors, including stimulus policy adjustments, front‑loaded demand, the Spring Festival holiday, weak consumer sentiment and a high base effect from the same period in 2024. Most crucially, a long‑standing vehicle purchase tax exemption for NEVs was halved at the start of 2026. The change, which now requires NEV buyers to pay a 5% tax compared with the 10% rate for gasoline cars, prompted many consumers to bring forward purchases to late 2025.

China set its economic growth target for 2026 at 4.5%-5%, a downgrade from the 5% pace achieved ​last year, reports Reuters, which says the target leaves room for greater, albeit not decisive, efforts to curb industrial overcapacity and rebalance the economy.

China also released its 15th five-year plan, and as ‌widely expected, pledged investments in innovation, high-tech industries, scientific research and a “notable”—but unspecified—increase in household consumption as a share of economic output.

In terms of stimulus, China plans a budget deficit of 4.0% of ​GDP, similar to last year. It set unchanged special debt issuance quotas for the central government of RMB 1.3 trillion ($188.49 billion) and for local governments at RMB 4.4 ​trillion. China pledged to raise minimum monthly pensions by RMB 20 per person and basic medical insurance subsidies for rural, non-working people by RMB 24. It said it wants to increase ‌education spending, ⁠subsidise childcare and reform public hospitals.

China will issue special sovereign bonds to recapitalize some of its largest banks, reports Bloomberg. The move marks an expansion of Beijing’s efforts to fortify the nation’s $69 trillion financial system against a cooling economy and market volatility.

A total of RMB 300 billion ($44 billion) worth of special government bonds will be sold this year to replenish core tier-1 capital at large commercial banks, according to a Ministry of Finance report seen by Bloomberg.

The fresh capital injection is designed to provide banks relief for profit margins, which have been eroded by falling interest rates. The capital allows for expanded lending capacity and larger provisions for potential bad debts.