The world’s gaze is firmly fixed on US President Donald Trump as he prepares to meet with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, at the G20 Summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Tensions between Washington and Beijing have been significantly ratcheted up, resulting in yet more tariffs. Trump suggested he could raise existing tariffs from 10% to 25% on $200 billion of Chinese goods.
Ahead of the talks, the US president has inflamed tensions further by saying he could slap further tariffs on Chinese products if the talks fail to yield a solution. Political leaders and investors in Asia – and indeed across the world – will be following the meeting between the leaders of the world’s two largest economies.
“I’m hoping for a miracle during the G20 meeting, that they will come together, but my feeling is they won’t,” said Indonesian President Joko Widodo.
Roger Bacon, head of investments for Asia Pacific at Citi Private Bank said investors must be realistic about any conclusion from the meeting between Trump and Xi.
"If we can get at least some semblance of a framework coming out of it for further discussions, then I think the market will take that as positive," he said.
Tai Hui, chief Asia market strategist at JP Morgan Asset Management said a breakthrough is unlikely given Trump’s recent comments, although he expects both sides to continue engaging in dialogue.
“Given the potential economic consequences, a breakdown is also unlikely, so the middle of the ground seems the most likely scenario,” he said.
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