EU takes China to the WTO, while Xi lands in Saudi Arabia

Here’s what else you need to know about China today:

The European Union is suing China at the World Trade Organization (WTO) over two “highly damaging” cases, the European Commission announced today: one for the punitive trade restrictions Beijing has placed on Lithuania, and the other for failing to protect the intellectual property of high-tech patent holders.

Xí Jìnpíng 习近平 was welcomed with pomp and circumstance in Saudi Arabia today to attend two summits with the leaders of Gulf Arab nations, in the hopes of signing dozens of agreements on trade, economic, and military agreements worth tens of billions of dollars.

• Yesterday on The China Project: Xi heads to Saudi Arabia, as Washington grows anxious.

Washington has approved nearly half a billion dollars worth of arms sales to Taiwan to support the island’s air force, likely drawing ire from Beijing just weeks after U.S. President Joe Biden discussed Taiwan with Chinese leader Xi Jinping during their first in-person meeting.

China’s exports in November decreased by 8.7% year-on-year to $296 billion, the lowest level since March 2020, while imports fell by 10.6% to $226.2 billion, the lowest level since June 2020. China’s trade surplus in November decreased by $15.31 billion to $69.84 billion. See today’s Business briefs from the Chinese media, with more links and info on:

• Another car maker goes electric.
• China’s digital economy is the world’s second largest.

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