US-China trade war update: reality hits Communist Party planning, economic heavyweights candid about tariffs for Christmas, no fun at the Canton Fair
- Inching towards a ‘mini deal’ while the bad news data continues to arrive for China
- Inside Shanghai’s Bund Conference, and what China’s economic heavyweights are saying about Trump’s real agenda and whether the trade war is over by Christmas
After much back and forth it looks like the planets are aligning, and the momentum moving firmly towards a “mini-deal” between the United States and China. Over the weekend, the Office of the US Trade Representative and Chinese state media organ Xinhua both published statements suggesting that a deal is near and while the substance might be underwhelming for some, economic data from both Beijing and Washington emphasises the need for a sticking plaster to alleviate some trade war pain.
Political economy editor John Carter joined us to frisk the latest numbers, and shares some insights from the annual China Import and Export Fair, better known a the Canton Fair, and how China’s manufacturing industry is dealing with the trade war.
Reporter Cissy Zhou has been on the conference circuit in China over the past week, stopping off this weekend in Shanghai to interview some economic heavyweights about the trade war. She spoke to Yu Yongding, former president of the China Society of World Economics and adviser to the People’s Bank of China, Jeffrey Sachs, the renowned developmental economist who got in hot water last year over his comments on Huawei, and doorstopped Huang Qifan, the economic brains behind the incredible rise of the megalithic Chinese city of Chongqing.
She shares her findings - including people were saying to her in the teabreaks about the possibility of an end to the trade war by Christmas - on this week’s podcast.
