US orders from China rose ahead of Trump-Xi summit — CNBC

American companies increased orders for Chinese goods ahead of the summit between US President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Washington. This was reported by CNBC Top News, citing a private China Beige Book survey conducted among 1,296 Chinese companies from September 1 to 22.

The US orders index, which reflects the difference between the share of enterprises reporting an increase and a decline in orders, rose to 13 points in September. A year earlier, the figure was minus 12 points, while in August it was 3 points. China Beige Book called this increase unexpected and linked it to an improvement in China’s relative tariff position.

Overall orders remained weaker

At the same time, the total volume of domestic and export orders in China remained lower than a year earlier. New orders also weakened compared with August, according to the survey results.

The growth in US orders occurred amid companies’ expectations of more stable relations between the world’s two largest economies. The United States and China agreed to extend their trade truce by two months, until January: it provides for maintaining lower tariffs, suspending restrictive measures on rare-earth metal exports, and postponing higher port fees for vessels.

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Tariffs and export expectations

According to Barclays, the effective US tariff rate on Chinese goods stands at about 23%, significantly above the average US tariff level for other major trading partners. As reported, Washington also planned to postpone at least until the summit’s conclusion the introduction of new tariffs related to industrial overcapacity.

Export order data are consistent with official statistics, according to which Chinese ports recorded their busiest week on record ahead of the summit. Following the extension of the truce, Eurasia Group raised its assessment of the likelihood of stability in bilateral relations to the highest level since Trump returned to office.

Eurasia Group’s China director Dan Wang said that Washington would likely seek faster Chinese approval of rare-earth export licenses for US end users, as well as increased purchases of US agricultural products. Beijing, for its part, will expect the White House to maintain its pause on arms sales to Taiwan.