| President Joe Biden is close to making his first major policy move on trade ties between the world's two biggest economic powers. The US is considering rolling back some of the tariffs imposed on hundreds of billions of dollars worth of Chinese goods under Donald Trump's administration, according to people familiar with the deliberations. Why now? The alarming speed at which prices of everything from food to gasoline are rising is threatening to push the US into recession. But economists are skeptical this will do much to tame inflation. Tensions are flaring on the chip front. The US stepped up efforts to block China's ambitions of becoming the world's leading chip-maker by trying to restrict sales of crucial semiconductor-manufacturing equipment. Shares of Chinese makers of chip gear such as Piotech and Kingsemi surged after Bloomberg broke the news Washington was pushing the Netherlands, where top semiconductor-equipment maker ASML is based, to expand exports restrictions on China. Beijing swiftly accused the US of "technological terrorism." Investors are betting that US sanctions on China's industry for integrated circuits will drive Beijing to build its own vast semiconductor ecosystem, to remove reliance on foreign equipment and materials, benefiting local players. China's chip industry has been growing faster than any other nation's since the US began sanctioning Chinese tech giants. China has largely managed to avoid the type of runaway surge in prices plaguing other big economies. To see how they did it, take a look at pork.  Pigs at a pig farm in China. Photographer: Jin Wu Early this month, hog futures climbed to their highest levels in a year, prompting China's top economic planner to spring into action by embarking on a campaign to stabilize prices. The powerful National Development and Reform Commission warned farmers not to engage in price gouging or hoarding. Then the government said it would crack down on "malicious speculation" and the spread of fake information. It's all part of a Chinese playbook familiar to commodity traders. Predictably, hog futures on Wednesday tumbled the most in seven weeks after the government stepped up its efforts to tame prices. Shanghai's police department may have been subject to the country's largest cyberattack after unknown hackers claimed to have stolen 23 terabytes of data, sending shockwaves through the Chinese security community. All this data was offered for about 10 Bitcoin, worth around $200,000. China's cabinet stressed the need to bolster cybersecurity in the wake of the incident. The extent of the fallout will depend on a number factors — such as who will be blamed for the lapse. Days after taking office, new Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee put a halt to the city's flight-ban mechanism, which caused chaos for travelers. It was a seen as a signal his administration will ease onerous travel curbs that have made Hong Kong one of the most isolated places on earth. Prior to this, Lee's comments — particularly, his use of a catchphrase popular with mainland Chinese officials pursuing Covid Zero — had made it unclear whether his administration would open up the city, as rival financial hub Singapore attracts more expats. The government also took the unusual step of cracking down on possibly contaminated mangoes. With infections climbing again and triggering a warning from health authorities, it's unclear how Lee will convince mainland China to open its borders further in time for Chinese valentine's day. After all, the mainland is also seeing flareups of its own, fueling fears of another lockdown in places such as Shanghai. Finally, here are a few other stories that caught our attention: | 
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