Markets rally as U.S., China agree to resume negotiations
WASHINGTON/BEIJING China and the United States on Thursday agreed to hold high-level talks in early October in Washington, cheering investors hoping for a trade war thaw as new U.S. tariffs on Chinese consumer goods chip away at global growth.
The new talks were arranged during a phone call between Chinese Vice Premier Liu He, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, China’s commerce ministry said in a statement.
They would be the first in-person, high-level discussions since a failed U.S.-China trade meeting at the end of July prompted U.S. President Donald Trump to proceed with fresh tariffs on virtually all remaining Chinese imports so far untouched by the trade war.
But there was no indication that the first round of these tariffs — a 15-per-cent duty on Chinese consumer goods imposed on Sept. 1 — would be rescinded or halt a planned Oct. 1 tariff increase on US$250 billion worth of goods already levied at 25 per cent.
The U.S. Trade Representative’s office did not specify timing for the ministerial-level talks, saying only that these would take place “in the coming weeks.”
“In advance of these discussions, deputy-level meetings will take place in mid-September to lay the groundwork for meaningful progress,” USTR spokesman Jeff Emerson said in a statement.
The United States and China remain far apart on the substance of a deal to end their 14-month trade war, with little movement since a May breakdown in the talks.
Nonetheless, financial markets breathed a sigh of relief at the potential cooling of trade tensions. U.S., Asian and European stock indexes all touched one-month highs on Thursday.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average ended up 372.68 points at 26,728.15. The S&P 500 index was up 38.22 points at 2,976.00, while the Nasdaq composite was up 139.95 points at 8,116.83.
In Toronto, the S&P/TSX composite index gained 125.97 points to close at 16,574.81, its highest level in six weeks.