US-China Trade War: Mixed Signals Keep Markets Guessing on Progress

Offering some relief to markets on the issue of the trade war, US President Donald Trump once again confirmed that trade negotiations with China were progressing well. His comments were far more reassuring than his statements on Tuesday when he had remarked that a resolution to the trade war could only be expected after next year’s presidential elections.

A report from Bloomberg also supported the optimism in the market, revealing that both the US and China were nearing the end of negotiations on the phase one trade deal and are getting close to agreeing on the issue of tariff rollbacks.

However, there was still palpable tension in the air between the two world leaders, this time because of a US legislation against China’s treatment of Uighur Muslims. China once again warned the US against the Uighur Bill which, if passed into law, will allow the US to impose sanctions on Chinese government officials.

China’s government has termed this latest move as a malicious attack and demanded that the US desist from passing this bill into law. In addition, a Chinese official has also cautioned that if the US goes ahead with implementing the next round of tariffs on December 15, China will have no choice but to hit back with retaliatory tariffs on US imports as well.