A look at the day ahead in European and global markets from Rae Wee After drowning for days in headlines about Donald Trump's return to the White House, investors were delivered a bit of a diversion on Thursday with the announcement of new Chinese measures to boost its ailing stock market.

President Donald Trump is considering changing a key U.S. trade benefit to other nations, the "de minimis" exemption on import tariffs, as he accuses China of unfair trade practices and blames it for a crisis over the deadly drug fentanyl.

China’s navy has commissioned a new-generation frigate as competition rises with the US and other regional powers, saying the ship will “play a vital role in enhancing the overall combat effectiveness” of its forces.

More than half of the American businesses in China, the highest level in five years, say they are concerned about a further deterioration in the bilateral relationship between the world's two largest economies,

The Chinese government is trying to ensure that share prices on its domestic markets will rise by ordering pensions and mutual funds to invest more in domestic stock markets.

Whether it is over TikTok, fentanyl or trade, Beijing might welcome a compromise to buy time to address its ailing economy and bolster its position globally.

China's relations are starting to improve with Japan, India and other countries that former U.S. President Joe Biden courted, just as Donald Trump brings his more unilateralist approach back to the White House.

The US president says Russia will face "high levels of taxes, tariffs and sanctions" if it does not make a deal to end the conflict.

On Christmas Day, Trump posted on social media that the "wonderful soldiers of China" were "lovingly, but illegally, operating the Panama Canal" - a claim which was swiftly denied by officials in Panama City and Beijing.

Once known for its efforts to curtail population growth, China is now facing a demographic crisis that threatens its economy and already-frail social security system.