Futures Jump After China Says It Is “Evaluating” Trade Talks

Update (9:20pm ET): the first reaction from the US side comes in by way of Marco Rubio who speaks in a Fox News interview, and it is very much as expected: he makes it seem that China reached out first, which to Beijing is a non-started as its specific framework is that the US was reaching out in order for Xi not to lose face:

• RUBIO SAYS CHINA IS REACHING OUT ON ECONOMIC ISSUES
• RUBIO: CHINESE WANT TO MEET AND TALK

And now it is up to China to respond, although since both sides can’t seem to even agree on who will cede ground by reached out first, we expect this latest attempt at detente won’t go too far.

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Futures spiked, moving back to session highs and forgetting all about the bitter taste from disappointing results from Amazon and Apple, following news from Bloomberg that China was “assessing the possibility of trade talks with the US” the first sign since Donald Trump hiked tariffs last month that negotiations could begin between the two sides.

China’s Commerce Ministry said in a Friday statement that it had noted senior US officials repeatedly expressing their willingness to talk to Beijing about tariffs, and urged officials in Washington to show “sincerity” towards China.

“The US has recently sent messages to China through relevant parties, hoping to start talks with China,” the ministry added. “China is currently evaluating this.”

Of course, the Chinese spin is one in which the Trump admin reached out first, and which the US pro-China media will promptly use to hammer Trump with, resulting in an even quick denial by the president and thus, China, thereby erasing any hope of an overture, one which won’t come until both sides are quite desperate.

For now, however, the reaction to the flashing red headline was stark as &P 500 erased early losses in Asia while a gauge of regional equities also turned positive after the statement. The offshore yuan edged stronger, while the Australian dollar, a China proxy, also extended gains.

The statement signals the stalemate between the world’s two largest economies could shift, after Trump hiked US tariffs to the highest level in a century and Beijing retaliated in kind.

Trump has repeatedly said President Xi Jinping needs to contact him in order to begin tariff talks and earlier this week, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said it’s up to Beijing to take the first step to de-escalate the dispute; China has done the same.