U.S.-Asia Law Institute

March 15 - March 21

The US and China discuss creating a formal mechanism to manage bilateral trade and investment, even as the planned summit between Xi Jinping and Donald Trump is postponed; Macau’s legislature passes a bill authorizing closed-door court proceedings in national security cases; a Hong Kong committee investigating the fatal Wang Fuk Court fire of November 2025 hears that a cigarette “most likely” caused the blaze that killed 168 persons; Japan and the United States release a joint plan for building a more resilient supply chain of critical minerals and rare earths; South Korea’s National Assembly approves legislation to restructure the prosecution service into two separate agencies to handle serious crimes investigation and prosecutions; a proposed amendment to Taiwan’s National Security Act that would impose penalties on people advocating for China to take over Taiwan by force draws mixed reactions from security experts.