Chinese and U.S. trade negotiators have lined up an array of diplomatic wins for Donald Trump and Xi Jinping to unveil at a summit this week. Those easy hits are pleasing investors, but leave deeper core conflicts unresolved.
President Trump told reporters on Monday that “I really feel good” about a deal with China, after officials this weekend in Malaysia unveiled a slew of agreements to ease trade tensions. That’ll likely see China resume soy purchases in key Republican-voting states, while America walks back its latest 100% tariff threat in exchange for securing Beijing’s critical rare-earth magnets.
Markets soared on the news with the MSCI’s index for global stocks testing all-time highs, but analysts cautioned that the deal teed up for Trump and Xi to sign in South Korea ignored thorny issues. Fundamental fights over national security appeared untouched, they said, along with Trump’s stated core mission of rebalancing trade. Making that harder, Chinese investment into America remains heavily restricted.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.