Ships, Sanctions, Soybeans and Cooking Oil; DC think tanker arrest; UK-China relations; World Conference on China Studies

There are still no signs of progress toward a resolution of the escalating US-China tensions. On Tuesday the PRC sanction five US-related subsidiaries of South Korea’s Hanwha in relation to the US Section 301 investigation into the PRC’s maritime, logistics, and shipbuilding industries. The Ministry of Commerce explained the decision:

The United States’ Section 301 investigation and measures targeting China’s maritime, logistics, and shipbuilding industries seriously violate international law and the basic norms governing international relations, and gravely undermine the lawful rights and interests of Chinese enterprises. The U.S.-related subsidiaries of Hanwha Ocean Co., Ltd. in the United States have assisted and supported relevant investigative activities of the U.S. government, thereby harming China’s sovereignty, security, and development interests

Tuesday afternoon President Trump announced on Truth Social that the PRC is committing an “Economically Hostile Act” by boycotting US …