The news from Washington becomes ever-more dramatic, and it’s surprising that the Chinese are still interested in Xi meeting Trump so soon. Who knows how this American reality show plays out and how fast? Although actually we are increasingly convinced it plays out with Trump suddenly not being in the Oval Office. He is as much of a liability to the Republican Party as he is to the Democratic Party. But the word is that Xi will soon be doing a brief South American tour to provide a backdrop to a visit to Trump’s resort in Florida. Now, that will be a moment to savor. These two individuals make such an extraordinary contrast. But what do they say to each other? What is the announcement made at the end of the photo op? There are so many meaty topics that could be addressed, and so much neither side, presumably, wants to get clarified right now. Except maybe for Steve Bannon. What his gameplay is – now that’s a scary thought.
Back on home territory and far less dramatic was Premier Li Keqiang’s hint at his NPC press conference that this could be his last. As mentioned last week, this would be plausible in terms of the flushout of the Chinese leadership that apparently is on the cards for October.
And then we had the US Fed raise rates and the PBOC follow suit. Higher US interest rates make the US dollar more attractive overall, which means stronger tail winds for capital flight. It’s a little surprising that with the Washington turmoil, the US remains the obvious number one choice for investors globally. The conclusion has to be that people assume – we believe correctly – that in the end, the US system wins out.
Happy spring weekending!
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