A global initiative to ensure equitable distribution of coronavirus vaccines now includes most of the world — but not the U.S., China or Russia.

Why it matters: Assuming one or more vaccines ultimately gain approval, there will be a period of months or even years in which supply lags far behind global demand. The COVAX initiative is an attempt to ensure doses go where they're most needed, rather than simply to countries that can produce or buy them at scale.

Major climate news arrived on Tuesday when Chinese President Xi Jinping said China would aim for "carbon neutrality" by 2060 and a CO2 emissions peak before 2030.

Why it matters: China is by far the world's largest greenhouse gas emitter. So its success or failure at reining in planet-warming gases affects everyone's future.

The House on Tuesday voted 406-3 in favor of a bill to ban products made with forced labor in China's mass detention camps.

Why it matters: The U.S. has ramped up pressure recently on China to address human rights abuses in the Xinjiang region, where the Chinese government has engaged in a campaign of cultural and demographic genocide against Uighur Muslims and other ethnic minorities.

Democrats and Republicans have sharply differing views on some aspects of foreign policy and national security. But when it comes to China, there is some degree of consensus, according to a new survey by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs.

Details: There is widespread support across party lines for sanctions to combat China's human rights violations, as well as measures to protect Americans from the potential risks of Chinese technology.

China's economic planning and targeted subsidies have increased the competitiveness of Chinese firms in the global economy to the direct detriment of U.S. industry, an academic study has found.

Why it matters: When it comes to American industries and workers, the rise of Chinese industrial policy hasn’t been a win-win — researchers found for every 100 factories opened in China, 12.5 U.S. factories in the same industry closed.

Chinese Communist Party Secretary Xi Jinping announced last week that the party must strengthen its leadership over private companies, and that entrepreneurs must meet the party's needs. 

Why it matters: Xi's new announcement will increase fears that Chinese businesses may serve as a Trojan horse for the CCP.

President Trump used a virtual address to the UN General Assembly on Tuesday to defend his response to the coronavirus and call on other countries to “hold accountable the nation which unleashed this plague onto the world: China.”

Setting the scene: Trump ticked through four years of major decisions and accomplishments in what could be his last address to the UN. But first, he launched into a fierce attack on China as Beijing’s representative looked on in the assembly hall.

Back in February, I wrote about how the classic Czech piano company Klaviry Petrof, founded in 1864, could face losses after China threatened retaliation on Czech companies after a Czech politician planned to visit Taiwan, which the Chinese government views as part of its territory.

• After a second Czech official visited Taiwan in August, China made good on that threat — a Chinese company suspended a $23.8 million order of the Czech-made pianos.

The Trump administration said Monday it would challenge a federal court ruling Sunday that temporarily blocked its attempt to curb the use of Chinese messaging and e-commerce app WeChat in the U.S.

The big picture: WeChat's ban has had a lower profile than TikTok's, but the fate of the app, widely used by Chinese people around the world to stay in touch with family and friends, is at least as consequential.

President Trump and China’s Xi Jinping will address the UN General Assembly just minutes apart on Tuesday morning — with Russia’s Vladimir Putin following soon thereafter.

The big picture: Trump has promised a “strong message on China.” Xi, meanwhile, is expected to laud global cooperation — with the clear implication that it can be led from Beijing.