Beijing reiterated its opposition on Thursday to potential new European Union trade safeguards targeting Chinese exports, vowing to take “all necessary measures” to defend the interests of its companies. “Artificially restricting normal trade is suspected of violating World Trade Organization rules,” said Huang Ling, spokeswoman for China’s Ministry of Commerce, at a weekly press conference. “Far from improving the competitiveness of EU industry, it will increase the burden on downstream...

A former CIA official has called for Washington to spy on foreign companies to help US firms stay ahead in the technology race, in what would represent a break from long-standing US policy amid intensifying competition with China. “The US lead in many crucial advanced technologies is being contested or even erased by China,” wrote David Cohen, who served as deputy director of the Central Intelligence Agency under Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden, in an article published by Foreign Affairs...