China launched two probes into US trade practices on Friday, mirroring Washington’s moves in an escalating trade standoff ahead of US President Donald Trump’s May visit to Beijing.
Beijing said the investigations were reciprocal after the US opened trade inquiries into China and other countries this year.
Both sides are aiming to build leverage before Trump’s summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. US-China trade has sunk to a two-decade low and continues to decline.
The probes are the latest sign that deep disagreements remain even after the superpowers agreed to a trade war truce in October.
But “the Taiwan question is China’s priority item” for the summit, a Shanghai-based professor wrote for the Brookings Institution, as Beijing looks to constrain Washington’s support for the island.