Some subtle hints offered by China but is it all too good to be true?
The Global Times just tweeted out this message:
"Phase-one deal of the China-US trade talks is of great significance for China, the US, and the world: FM #tradewar"
Now, ordinarily it doesn't really mean much but there appears to be a subtle change in communication from the Chinese camp following the trade truce on Friday. Some tweets from the Global Times' editor-in-chief yesterday:
"Based on what I know, China-US trade talks made breakthrough last week and the two sides have the strong will to reach a final deal. Initial statement of the Chinese side is moderate. This is China's habit. It doesn't mean China's real attitude is not positive."
"China has the market demand to buy $40 billion-$50 billion worth of US farm products. China won't make a commitment that it can't honor; once it promises, it will fulfill it."
Meanwhile, we're also seeing the SCMP report that Taoran Notes - a social media account affiliated with Beijing - said that China and US share the same position with regards to progress in trade talks last week.
The full statement reads:
"People who are familiar with China's situation would know that China takes a very cautious approach when it comes to official language used in announcements to the public... but we can confirm that both sides essentially share the same stance."
If you put all of the above together, it certainly represents a more upbeat stance as compared to previous rounds of trade talks.
I reckon the key thing to note here is that it appears that China wants to at least try and send a more optimistic message on the ground, though I'm not sure why they suddenly see the need to do so this time around.
It could be in part that both sides promised some official communication after the trade truce last week but it could also just be that China is really looking more optimistic after talks in Washington last week.
I don't think there's much to read into the remarks above just yet but it may be something that markets may allude to if there are no fresh headlines over the next few days.
