Trump Warms Up To China As He Eyes A Trade Deal, Xi Summit: Report

President Donald Trump has reportedly softened his stance on China compared to six months ago as he looks to secure a trade deal with the U.S.’s closest economic rival, and a meeting with his counterpart, President Xi Jinping.

According to a report by Bloomberg, which cited people familiar with the matter, President Trump has toned down his confrontation with China compared to his presidential campaign, as he seeks to achieve quick wins.

The report added that President Trump is among the least hawkish voices on China in his staff meetings. He also told reporters on Tuesday that he would fight China “in a very friendly fashion.”

This comes after the Trump administration allowed AI chip giants like Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) and Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) to sell their high-end artificial intelligence chips to customers in China, after ramping up restrictions through the first six months of his second term.

The news sent Nvidia and AMD stocks soaring, with the Jensen Huang-led AI bellwether’s market capitalization now comfortably over the $4 trillion level, widening the gulf between itself and the second-largest company, Microsoft Corp.

The lifting of curbs on Nvidia’s export of H20 AI chips to China also lifted the Nasdaq index to a record high on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, U.S. equities exhibited caution in Wednesday’s midday trading session, despite the better-than-expected results of major banks such as Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs.

The SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) was down 0.18% at the time of writing, while the Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) declined 0.4%. Retail sentiment around the S&P 500 ETF on Stocktwits has been in the ‘neutral’ territory over the past week.

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