China’s economy likely showed stability in the first two months of the year, despite US President Donald Trump returning to office and almost instantly starting a second trade war with Beijing.

Long-threatened tariffs from U.S. President Donald Trump have plunged the country into a trade war abroad — all while on-again, off-again new levies continue to escalate uncertainty.

Canadian lumber company Transpac Group confirmed on Mar. 13 that it’s largely shutting down its site on Afognak Island near Kodiak, effective immediately. Representatives of the company say that’s because earlier this month, China halted imports of U.S. logs in response to tariffs President Donald Trump imposed on Chinese goods.

Ensuring that China’s 1.4 billion citizens are adequately fed continues to top the policy agenda. While the Asian giant remains a key export market for largely Republican states in the Midwest farm belt, Beijing’s efforts to reconfigure supply chains after the trade war during the first Trump presidency have weakened Washington’s leverage.

Beijing imposed broad tariffs on imports of American food and said 15 U.S. companies could no longer buy from China without special permission.

The US president threatens a response from his administration after the European bloc announces retaliatory measures to Trump's 25% tax on steel and aluminium imports.