What Xi Said is a weekly rundown of the top ten emerging issues from the past seven days shaping US-China commercial relations.

What Xi Said is for global communication strategists and C-Suite executives.

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Memo: What Xi Said | Edition 4 | February 1, 2021

1. China overtakes the US as No. 1 spot for new foreign investment: New investments by overseas businesses into the US, which for decades held the No. 1 spot, fell 49% in 2020, according to UN figures.

2. Pacific island nations turn to China-led agencies to plug funding gaps in their pandemic-ravaged budgets after exhausting financing options from traditional western partners, stoking fears the region is becoming more dependent on Beijing.

3. The US has reaffirmed its support for Taiwan following China's dispatch of warplanes near the island in an apparent attempt to intimidate its democratic government and test the new Biden administration's resolve.

4. Biden reaffirms commitment to defending Japan's Senkaku Islands: The pledge came in a call between the US and Japanese leaders and is the latest sign of tough White House stance on China.

5. Chinese and Indian troops again clashed on the border between the two countries, in the Indian state of Sikkim. Last year the two sides repeatedly skirmished on the fringes of the Indian part of Kashmir. China has denied the recent skirmish.

6. Space is the next 'great power' contest between the US and China: The Biden administration faces not only waves of Chinese anti-satellite weapons but a history of jumbled responses to the intensifying threat.

7. WHO team in Wuhan: A World Health Organization team investigating the origins of the coronavirus pandemic visited two disease control centers that had an early hand in managing Wuhan's outbreak.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken has criticized China for its lack of transparency about how the outbreak unfolded.

8. China prepares for the smallest Lunar New Year travel rush on record: The Chinese travel authority predicts 1.15 billion trips, 20% fewer than last year and the smallest figure since 2003.

9. While China's overall car sales declined 1.9% last year to 25.3 million, sales of electric vehicles surged 10.9% to 1.4 million units, according to the China Association of Automotive Manufacturers. The CAAM predicts an increase of total EV sales to 1.8 million by the end of 2021.

10. Starbucks' sales growth in China bucks global downturn: Same-store sales in China, its fastest-growing overseas market, climbed 5% in the October-December quarter, bucking a broader decline of 3% in international store sales.