Theresa May survives, but challenges remain

The embattled British prime minister won a no-confidence vote among the lawmakers of her Conservative Party on Wednesday, but she still lacks enough support in Parliament to pass her plan to leave the European Union. She also stands little chance of winning the concessions from Europe that she needs to break the logjam.

More than a third of the Conservatives voted against Mrs. May, who won the vote after promising that she would step down before the next general election, scheduled for 2022.

What’s next: Mrs. May plans to meet with other European leaders today. She has promised to let Parliament vote on the Brexit plan by Jan. 21, but if there is no agreement then, Britain could face a chaotic departure on March 29. Here are some possible scenarios.

China is cooling trade tensions, for now

Beijing has tempered its approach to U.S. trade negotiations, even after a prominent Chinese technology executive was arrested in Canada at the prompting of American officials.

China has characterized the detention as a simple law-enforcement dispute while making trade concessions to help defuse tensions — and it may have no choice. With its economy in a sharp downturn, worsened by the trade war, it is negotiating from a position of weakness.