China and the U.S. are able to resolve bilateral trade disputes through dialogue, Commerce Minister Gao Hucheng said. A good relationship between the two countries not only benefits both sides but helps global economic growth and recovery amid a still weak momentum, Gao added. Whatever changes in the U.S. policy toward China, the trade relations between the two nations will eventually return to “the track of mutual benefits and win-win,” he said. China is now America’s largest trading partner and its third largest export destination after Canada and Mexico. “Sino-U.S. trade can be traced back to the 18th century when the Empress of China arrived in China, trading Chinese tea leaves, chinaware and silk with U.S. ginseng, fur and cotton,” Gao said. The ship was the first to sail from the newly independent United States to China, arriving at Guangzhou in August 1784. “In 1979 when China and the U.S. established diplomatic relations, the bilateral trade turnover was merely USD2.5 billion, but 38 years later, the bilateral trade turnover had grown to USD519.6 billion in 2016,” Minister Gao said. U.S. exports to China had created 910,000 American jobs in 2015, he added. When asked about Trump’s criticisms against China, Gao said he did not want to “comment too much” on campaign rhetoric. Instead, China was paying attention to the “attitude” of the new administration towards China trade, Gao said.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has called on Beijing to monitor whether the H7N9 bird flu virus gains the ability of sustained human-to-human transmission following reports of limited cases. The virus so far has not spread among humans in most cases. From January 1 until February 23, 94 deaths from H7N9 have been reported in China. Most human cases have been traced to exposure or contact with sick poultry. In a small number of cases, individuals were infected by limited, non-sustained human-to-human transmission of the virus. This could occur after prolonged, close, unprotected contact between individuals, the WHO said. “Authorities should be vigilant, and assess whether the virus gains the ability of sustained human-to-human spread,” said Bernhard Schwartländer, WHO’s Representative in China.

Chinese health authorities have issued stern warnings over the H7N9 bird flu outbreak last week, admitting the situation had already affected half of the country and could lead to even more fatalities. Since January, human deaths and infections from H7N9 have been reported in 16 provinces and municipalities. The virus had killed at least 87 people by February 12, including 79 in January. In the previous three years, January’s death toll had ranged between 20 and 31.

China has set a new record for copyrights, processing more than 2 million new registrations last year, a rise of 22.3% compared with 2015, the National Copyright Administration of China said. Nearly 1.6 million registrations were publications, including literary works and photographs, while 407,774 were software, according to the Administration. The number of software copyright registrations has increased about 40% compared with 2015. More than 80% of the software works were registered in 10 cities in Guangdong province, along with Beijing and Shanghai. China’s copyright registrations have seen a steady, rapid rise. The number has increased about four-fold since 2011, when the number was 570,000. In 2013, China’s copyright registrations hit what was then a record 1 million. “The increase shows the rise of people’s copyright protection awareness,” said Du Ying, Professor of intellectual property rights at the Central University of Finance and Economics in Beijing, the China Daily reports.

Guangdong province continued to lead the country in provincial GDP volume in 2016 at CNY7.95 trillion.This is the 28th consecutive year that Guangdong’s GDP volume was the largest in China. If the province was a country, its economy would be the 15th largest in the world. Nine provinces posted economic output of over CNY3 trillion in 2016. Guangdong province led in GDP volume and Tibet in GDP growth at 11.5%. But Liaoning province reported a -2.5% GDP growth last year compared to the previous year, with its economic output declining by 23.3% to about CNY2.2 trillion, dropping from the 10th largest to 14th in the country. This is partly due to the falsification of figures for previous years. The province began to improve data accuracy in 2015, when revenue contracted by 33.4% on an annual basis, the People’s Daily reported. Experts said that China’s northeastern provinces, including Heilongjiang, Liaoning and Jilin, have been “experiencing pain” during the economic transformation, as overcapacity remains, especially in key industries like coal and steel. Local governments should upgrade traditional industries and create new economic drivers by nurturing rising industries, including electric vehicles, robotics, drones and big data, analysts said. Economic growth in three provinces in Southwest China made strides in 2016. Aside from Tibet’s 11.5% GDP growth, Chongqing Municipality and Guizhou Province reported a 10.7% and 10.5% growth, respectively, the Global Times reports.

Overseas acquisitions by Chinese buyers are cooling after two record years but deals into China are on the rise, and new rules will make it easier for foreign buyers to tap China’s consumer potential. Inbound merger and acquisition (M&A) deals have already reached USD7.1 billion so far in 2017, almost double the amount in the same period of last year. They are well on track to beat the 2016 total of USD46 billion, while outbound deals tumbled more than 40% to USD8.4 billion, Thomson Reuters data showed. Deals in retail and consumer staples accounted for nearly half those transactions, far outpacing real estate and financial deals, which usually dominate inbound M&As. Belgian investment firm Verlinvest is ahead of the trend. It set up a USD300 million venture last year with Chinese state-owned conglomerate China Resources and has already deployed more than half of the funds, the Shanghai Daily reports. Verlinvest, which manages funds for the founding families of Anheuser-Busch Inbev, is investing in minority and majority stakes in leading Western brands so it can push them through China Resources’ distribution channels in China, said Nicholas Cator, who is responsible for the Asia business. “We’re going to be focusing on those high-growth sectors that are based on consumer trends, like health-related food and beverage products, health care, education, cinema or entertainment, or anything linked to any kind of cultural production and content,” he said. Verlinvest’s joint venture in December bought an undisclosed stake in Oatly, a Swedish maker of dairy-free products, and plans to expand it into China, and in November it bought a majority stake in Red Sun Enterprise, which owns senior care homes in Shanghai and Nanjing.