By Samuel Shen and Tom Westbrook SHANGHAI/SINGAPORE, May 12 Investors expect U.S.
President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart to keep trade tensions on the backburner when they meet in Beijing and say they are focused on the booming AI sector and whether the U.S. will relax chip export restrictions
This is in stark contrast with years of Chinese asset prices swinging wildly on trade and tariff headlines and is reflected most clearly in the yuan, which has been steadily rising for a year to reach a three-year peak. [CNY/] While thorny subjects like the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, Taiwan, rare earths and nuclear weapons may be discussed and major disagreements could dent market confidence, investors are presently betting on China’s technology drive. China’s benchmark Shanghai Composite is trading at an 11-year high and export growth is powering ahead on a wave of AI-driven orders. Even a widening trade surplus does not make fund managers nervous about a fresh round of U.S. tariffs and they have swung their portfolios behind China’s artificial intelligence self-sufficiency drive. “The tables have turned.
There’s little China is eager to discuss with Trump,” said Yang Tingwu, vice general manager of Tongheng Investment, adding that Trump’s unresolved war with Iran has weakened his hand. Yang has invested in China Mobile and China Telecom for exposure to their data-centre businesses. The shift in market focus, with Trump due on Wednesday for his first visit to China in nearly nine years, reflects the diminished brinkmanship in the U.S.-China relationship since Trump and President Xi Jinping pressed pause on their trade war six months ago.