US-China trade truce: both sides back down

China and America have agreed to a “pretend” trade deal, with details are so thin that the Chinese preferred not to call it a “deal” at all. That didn’t stop the markets cheering.

Aerial View of Shanghai © iStockphotos

Chinese policymakers must be worried abut the state of the economy
(Image credit: Aerial View of Shanghai © iStockphotos)

China and America have agreed to a "pretend trade deal", says Christopher Balding in Foreign Policy. Donald Trump has lauded a "phase one" trade agreement, but the details are so thin that the Chinese side preferred not to use the term "deal" at all. That didn't stop the markets cheering. Both US and Chinese stocks rose on the announcement, with both America's Nasdaq and S&P 500 up more than 1% last Friday. US stocks recorded their first weekly gain in four weeks. The agreement is "very preliminary", Warren Maruyama of Hogan Lovells told Barron's. "Markets have been extraordinarily gullible."

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Markets editor

Alex is an investment writer who has been contributing to MoneyWeek since 2015. He has been the magazine’s markets editor since 2019. 

Alex has a passion for demystifying the often arcane world of finance for a general readership. While financial media tends to focus compulsively on the latest trend, the best opportunities can lie forgotten elsewhere. 

He is especially interested in European equities – where his fluent French helps him to cover the continent’s largest bourse – and emerging markets, where his experience living in Beijing, and conversational Chinese, prove useful. 

Hailing from Leeds, he studied Philosophy, Politics and Economics at the University of Oxford. He also holds a Master of Public Health from the University of Manchester.