By Joe Cash BEIJING, Dec 9 (Reuters) - China's Premier Li Qiang on Tuesday urged trading partners to reject rising protectionism, a day after the world's second-largest economy posted a record $1 trillion trade surplus driven by a rush of exports to non-U.

The Japanese government is taking uncomfortable steps to prepare its citizens for a possible future war that its military would not be able to avoid.

China's exports to the U.S. have dropped sharply this year, in the face of President Trump's tariffs — but the country is still finding plenty of customers elsewhere around the world.

China’s exports returned to growth in November following an unexpected contraction the month before, although shipments to the United States dropped nearly 29% from a year earlier in an eighth straight month of double-digit declines.

China’s renminbi is lagging the currencies of key trading partners, making Chinese goods and services cheap and helping to drive exports.

A radar lock-on, used to guide missiles, is considered a serious escalation compared with routine surveillance, an expert said.

Japan is threatening China militarily which is "completely unacceptable", Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his German counterpart, after Japan said that Chinese fighter jets had aimed their radar at Japanese military aircraft.

We’re now starting to see a second China shock play out, one that looks different. This time, barred from the U.S. market by tariffs, and unable to sell enough to consumers at home, China is redirecting more of its exports to developing countries. It’s also setting up its own factories in some of these countries.