Equity investors ignore US-China split at their peril

Washington and Beijing’s troubled relationship has taken a turn for the worse recently, but markets have become strangely blasé about the situation.

Donald Trump and Xi Jinping © SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images
Donald Trump no longer feels the same way about Xi Jinping
(Image credit: © SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)

“I had a great relationship with President Xi,” US president Donald Trump told Fox Sports Radio. “I like him, but I don’t feel the same way now.” Washington and Beijing’s troubled relationship has taken a turn for the worse recently, with the two sides clashing over everything from stockmarket listings and tech to Hong Kong. Consulates have been closed and credit cards blocked. Hong Kong’s leader Carrie Lam admitted this week that she has struggled to pay with plastic since she was targeted by US financial sanctions.

Ironically, trade is one of the few areas where the two countries still seem able to engage constructively, says Laura He for CNN Business. A cautious truce in January drew a line under a bitter two-year trade war. Scarred by recession, neither side appears inclined to resort to new tariff hikes for now.

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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.