Donald Trump landed in Beijing Wednesday for a meeting with Xi Jinping that puts U.S.-China trade and technology limits back in focus. Asia-Pacific markets were set to open higher Thursday as investors looked to the summit for clues on U.S.-China ties and global trade.
Trump arrived with a group of U.S. executives, including Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Nvidia boss Jensen Huang. The corporate roster puts major U.S. business leaders in Beijing alongside talks expected to center on tariffs and export controls.
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Goldman Sachs expects the Trump-Xi meeting to focus narrowly on tariffs, rare earth restrictions, and semiconductors. The bank does not expect a sweeping reset in bilateral ties.
Goldman’s analysts also see a possible trade-off: China could step up purchases of U.S. farm goods, energy, and aircraft in exchange for avoiding further tariff hikes. They wrote that the meeting could act as a tactical catalyst for strength in the Chinese yuan and Chinese equities, while still falling short of a game changer for U.S.-China relations.
Regional futures already had specific numbers attached to the summit week. Japan’s Nikkei 225 futures in Chicago traded at 63,590 versus the index’s prior close of 63,272.11, while Hang Seng futures were at 26,799 against a last close of 26,388.44. Tariff hikes, rare earth restrictions, semiconductor controls, and any Chinese purchases of U.S. farm goods, energy, and aircraft are the concrete items left on the table.
