China’s Vice Commerce Minister says talks with US on trade rational and candid

Lallalit Srijandorn FXStreet

China’s Vice Commerce Minister Li Chenggang said early Wednesday that communication with the United States (US) has been rational and candid, adding that the two sides agreed on a consensus on the Geneva meeting.

Key quotes

Talks with the US had involved in-depth exchanges.
Communication has been rational and candid.
Two sides agreed on a consensus at the Geneva meeting.
Will report on a framework to Leaders.
Hope Progress Here is conducive to increasing Trust Between China and the US.
Hope this injects positive Energy into World Economic Development.
Our communication has been professional, rational, in-depth and candid.
We hope progress achieved in London talks can be conducive for enhancing trust.

Market reaction

At the time of writing, the AUD/USD pair is trading 0.09% higher on the day at 0.6527.

US-China Trade War FAQs

What does “trade war” mean?

Generally speaking, a trade war is an economic conflict between two or more countries due to extreme protectionism on one end. It implies the creation of trade barriers, such as tariffs, which result in counter-barriers, escalating import costs, and hence the cost of living.

What is the US-China trade war?

An economic conflict between the United States (US) and China began early in 2018, when President Donald Trump set trade barriers on China, claiming unfair commercial practices and intellectual property theft from the Asian giant. China took retaliatory action, imposing tariffs on multiple US goods, such as automobiles and soybeans. Tensions escalated until the two countries signed the US-China Phase One trade deal in January 2020. The agreement required structural reforms and other changes to China’s economic and trade regime and pretended to restore stability and trust between the two nations. However, the Coronavirus pandemic took the focus out of the conflict. Yet, it is worth mentioning that President Joe Biden, who took office after Trump, kept tariffs in place and even added some additional levies.

Trade war 2.0

The return of Donald Trump to the White House as the 47th US President has sparked a fresh wave of tensions between the two countries. During the 2024 election campaign, Trump pledged to impose 60% tariffs on China once he returned to office, which he did on January 20, 2025. With Trump back, the US-China trade war is meant to resume where it was left, with tit-for-tat policies affecting the global economic landscape amid disruptions in global supply chains, resulting in a reduction in spending, particularly investment, and directly feeding into the Consumer Price Index inflation.

Author

Lallalit Srijandorn

FXStreet

Lallalit Srijandorn is a Parisian at heart. She has lived in France since 2019 and now becomes a digital entrepreneur based in Paris and Bangkok.

EUR/USD shifts its attention to 1.1900 and above

EUR/USD has shaken off Tuesday’s dip, pushing back beyond the 1.1800 mark amid decent gains as Wednesday’s session draws to a close. The rebound is largely driven by a modest pullback in the US Dollar, as markets digest the aftermath of President Trump’s SOTU speech and continue to monitor trade-related headlines and signals from the White House.

GBP/USD challenges multi-day highs near 1.3530

GBP/USD leaves behind the previous day’s decline and regains fresh upside traction on Wednesday, surpassing the 1.3500 barrier in a context of a modest decline in the Greenback and a generalised improved mood in the risk-linked space. Meanwhile, the US tariff narrative continues to dictate the mood among market participants after Presidet Trump’s SOTU speech failed to surprise markets.

Gold remains bid and close to $5,200

Gold buyers are returning to the fold on Wednesday, targeting the $5,200 area and possibly beyond, after Tuesday’s corrective dip from monthly highs. The rebound in the precious metal comes as the US Dollar loses traction, with Trump’s SOTU speech offering little fresh direction and AI-related nerves continuing to ease.

UK financial watchdog advances stablecoin oversight as four firms pilot issuance

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the United Kingdom (UK) is advancing toward the final stablecoin regulatory framework with a pilot program involving four companies, including Monee, Financial Technologies ReStabilise, Revolut and VVTX.

Nvidia earnings to influence AI trade and broader market sentiment

For the last three years, Nvidia has been the engine of the AI boom, and now Wall Street is watching to see whether that momentum can keep going. High-growth stocks have been struggling to maintain their bullish trend in 2026.

Cosmos Hub Price Forecast: ATOM rebounds slightly, bearish outlook remains intact

Cosmos Hub (ATOM) price rebounds, trading above $2.05 at the time of writing on Wednesday, after undergoing a sharp correction since last week. Weakening on-chain and derivatives data support a bearish outlook, while technical analysis remains unfavorable.