Suntech Power

The company, based in Wuxi, outside Shanghai, had more than $2 billion in credit lines and defaulted on $541 million in bonds due on March 15, prompting eight Chinese banks to ask a local court to push Suntech’s main unit into insolvency. 

In just five years, China has surpassed the U.S. as a trading partner for much of the world.  The first story in new Associated Press series on "China's Reach."