The Chinese military is winning the conventional missile arms race, particularly for anti-ship missiles, and US commanders are frantically trying to come up with alternative strategies before US aircraft carriers become obsolete. [...]

The UK has approved the use of Huawei products in defiance of American threats to halt intelligence cooperation and the Five Eye's concerns. Speaking to Sputnik, Chinese academic Zhu Feng has explained London's rationale and cast doubt on Washington's apparent plan to ban Huawei worldwide. [...]

The Pentagon, whose military installations abroad dwarf those of China, is deeply worried about Beijing conspiring to build up such facilities across the world in order to protect the global One Belt, One Road project. [...]

Earlier, speaking at the Munich Security Conference over the weekend, US Vice President Mike Pence boasted about "renewed American leadership on the world stage," while talking up sanctions against Russia, tough tariffs against China, 'confrontation' with Iran, and US intentions to withdraw from the INF Treaty. [...]

The volume of mutual trade between Russia and China finally reached $100 billion for the first time ever, according to Gao Feng, the Chinese commerce ministry's spokesman. [...]

US cyber officials are attempting to put the squeeze on their European allies, saying they will have to reassess their ability to share information with them if they use Huawei in their 5G networks. [...]

There are suggestions that the US and China may now sign a trade agreement in May. However, it seems unlikely that this will be the great victory over China that Trump promised, as recent events indicate. [...]

Beijing has inked cooperation deals on its multi-trillion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) with 17 Arab countries, state-run Xinhua News Agency reported, citing the results of a joint Sino-Arab forum. [...]

Italy’s endorsement of China’s global integration model – the Belt and Road Initiative – has caused ructions in the transatlantic alliance and also between members of the European Union delineating the bloc’s North-South divide. [...]

Almost any economist will tell you that fighting several trade wars simultaneously is a bad idea. Any diplomat will tell you that alienating your closest ally is ill-advised. However, the trade hawks in Washington seem to think they can bully both Europe and China at the same time. [...]

China will buy a total of 300 passenger jets from European aircraft maker Airbus as its US rival Boeing struggles in the aftermath of two deadly crashes involving its 737 MAX. [...]

Italy’s desire to build trade ties with China isn’t a move against the US, but an effort to “maximise” its own interests, Italy’s former Foreign Minister Franco Frattini told RT, ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s Rome visit. [...]

Washington’s threat to downgrade its intelligence-sharing with Berlin if Germany buys Chinese 5G equipment is an example of why Berlin should seek more independence in its policies, former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said. [...]

Earlier, Washington sparked fears of a new nuclear arms race in Europe after it withdrew from the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty while building missile shield components in Poland and Romania. [...]

Italy is planning to formally back China’s multi-trillion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). It would become the first G7 nation to join the ambitious project which promises to significantly boost global trade. Rome is preparing to sign a memorandum of understanding to officially support the project, championed by Chinese President Xi Jinping, by the end of March, according to Michele Geraci [...]

US agricultural exports to China are forecast to fall significantly in crop year 2019, an official in President Donald Trump’s administration said this week, noting that the damage was a result of the administration’s own trade policies with China. [...]

The US House Judiciary Committee passed a bill on Thursday that would allow the Justice Department to sue members of OPEC for manipulating the oil market. According to Max Keiser, “this little alliance [between OPEC and the US – Ed.] has been going strong since the 1970s,” as the quid pro quo was that the US would buy Saudi oil and the Saudis would buy US debt. [...]

Global central banks bought more bullion last year than at any time since 1971, when the US ended the gold standard. Governments added 651.5 tons of gold to their coffers in 2018, according to the World Gold Council. It said that Russia, China and Turkey are leading the gold-buying spree. [...]

Retail sales in China are poised to surge this year and exceed US retail by more than $100 billion, bringing it the crown as the top global retail market, according to a forecast by research firm eMarketer. [...]

Richard D. Wolff is Professor of Economics Emeritus, University of Massachusetts, Amherst where he taught economics from 1973 to 2008. He is currently a Visiting Professor in the Graduate Program in International Affairs of the New School University, New York City. Earlier he taught economics at Yale University (1967-1969) and at the City College of the City University of New York (1969-1973 [...]

Chinese investments in North America and Europe fell by 73 percent last year as a result of tightened US scrutiny of foreign takeover deals and Beijing’s restrictions on outbound investments. Data from law firm Baker & McKenzie showed that Chinese foreign direct investment (FDI) flows into the United States have also turned negative, falling to the lowest in seven years. [...]

Trade turnover between Russia and China soared by nearly 30 percent in 2018, reaching a record number of $107.06 billion, according to the latest report released by China’s General Administration of Customs (GAC). The agency noted that last year Russian imports of Chinese goods increased by 12 percent to $47.98 billion. [...]