From July’s Nato summit to new drug trafficking arrests, here are highlights from our overseas correspondents in the first half of July 2026 We have selected seven of the most interesting and important news stories covering US-China relations from the past few weeks. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider
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1. US lawmakers push for fewer tax breaks to reduce reliance on China technology
A growing number of US lawmakers see the tax code as a way to shift corporate America’s reliance on Chinese technology, framing economic ties as a national security risk.
here.
2. Anthropic hits back after China warns of Claude Code ‘backdoor’ risks
US artificial intelligence company Anthropic said users in China being advised to uninstall its flagship Claude Code product were not supposed to be using it in the first place, responding after Beijing warned of security “backdoor” risks.
here.
3. Lindsey Graham’s death removes one of Washington’s most influential China hawks
The death of US Senator Lindsey Graham removed one of Washington’s most influential advocates of a hardline approach towards China at a moment when Republicans are debating how aggressively the United States should confront Beijing and project military power overseas.