The credit rating of Anbang Life Insurance Co was downgraded by Dagong Global Credit Rating Co, three months after the regulator curtailed its operations and two months since the Chairman of its parent company disappeared from public sight. The downgrade by one notch to AA+ came as Dagong said that Anbang Life is facing growing debt repayment pressure as a result of liquidity strains and falling investment yields.

Anbang Life is an arm of Anbang Insurance Group, which has come under fire for its aggressive overseas acquisitions, including the purchase of New York City’s Waldorf Astoria Hotel for USD2 billion. Anbang Group Chairman Wu Xiaohui left his job in June to help Chinese authorities with an investigation, and could not perform his duties for “personal reasons”.

Dagong Global said that Anbang Life booked a loss in the first half of 2017 and that its “operating revenue has been dropping fast”. Anbang’s life insurance premiums fell to CNY56.5 million in May from CNY85.2 billion in January. Both Anbang and the China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC) denied media reports that Anbang had been ordered to sell its overseas assets.

China will take “all appropriate measures” to defend its legal interests in response to a U.S. trade investigation into China’s intellectual property practices that has aroused tension between the world’s two largest economies. The U.S. Trade Representative formally announced the investigation on August 18.

The investigation is the administration’s first direct measure to be taken against Chinese trade practices, which the White House and some U.S. business groups say “are damaging” American industry.

China’s Commerce Ministry said in a statement that the move sent the wrong signal to the world, and would be condemned by the international community. “The United States’ disregard of World Trade Organization rules and use of domestic law to initiate a trade investigation against China is irresponsible, and its criticism of China is not objective,” a Ministry Spokesman said. “China expresses strong dissatisfaction with the United States’ unilateral protectionist action,” he added, warning that China would take “all appropriate measures and resolutely defend China’s lawful interests.”

U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer formally initiated the investigation under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, which allows the U.S. to unilaterally impose tariffs or other trade restrictions on foreign countries. It was frequently used in the 80s and early 90s, but was rarely used since the World Trade Organization (WTO) came into being in 1995. According to the Chinese government, such investigations run counter to WTO rules.

Conglomerate Dalian Wanda has abandoned plans to buy the GBP470 million four-hectare Nine Elms Square site in London. Britain’s St. Modwen Properties and its French partner Vinci sold the site to another buyer. The Chinese government issued new rules to restrict foreign investments in sports clubs, real estate and entertainment.

Beijing had encouraged such foreign ventures in previous years but the government now worries about growing debt loads that could endanger the economy. In July Sunac China Holdings said it would buy 76 hotels and a 91% stake in 13 other “cultural and tourism projects” from Dalian Wanda Group in a huge deal valued at CNY63.2 billion. But in a joint statement a week later, the companies said another firm, R&F Properties, would instead buy 77 hotels for CNY19.9 billion.

Sunac will now only buy a majority stake in the 13 cultural assets, and for a price of CNY43.8 billion. It was reported in July that authorities plan to squeeze Wanda by cutting off new loans and regulatory approvals for deals, in a punishment for breaching curbs on overseas investments.

As of August 14, 1,004 Chinese listed companies had disclosed their first-half reports with total net profit up 21.2% year-on-year to CNY297.1 billion. About 74% of the companies registered year-on-year net profit growth in the first half of the year. A total of 223 companies witnessed a year-on-year profit surge of over 100% in the first half, and 233 companies reported year-on-year profit growth of between 30% and 100%.

China’s manufacturing sector in June stayed above the boom-bust mark for the 11th consecutive month, with traditional sectors like oil refining and metal smelting witness- ing robust growth, suggesting improved supply-demand structure, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). The tech-heavy small and medium-sized enterprises board witnessed net profit growth in the first six months, with new energy vehicle-related shares doing particularly well. Anhui Zotye Automobile saw net profit soar 494% year-on-year in the first half due to government efforts to boost green energy.

A Chinese court has awarded U.S. athletics shoemaker New Balance CNY10 million in copyright damages over its famous “N” logo. A court in Suzhou ruled that three defendants – one person and two companies – who made shoes under the brand name New Boom “acted in concert to infringe” the rights of the U.S. firm, according to a copy of the verdict. The judges noted the almost perfect similarity of the logos, along with other factors, and concluded that the counterfeit products could be “easily confused” with the authentic U.S. shoes.

New Balance has had a presence in China since 1995, where sales of sports equipment are growing rapidly. The judgment is a very rare victory for a Western brand in an intellectual property infringement case in China, and the damages are far larger than usually granted by Chinese courts.

The decision was announced soon after U.S. President Donald Trump launched an investigation into China’s record on intellectual property. New Balance in April 2015 lost a lawsuit against a Chinese investor who had registered the Putonghua name of the American shoemaker on his own behalf.