Asian markets soar as China-US announce trade talks this weekend

Asian stock markets climbed on Wednesday after China and the United States confirmed that they would hold trade talks this weekend. This meeting boosted hopes of easing tensions amid the ongoing trade war which has unsettled global investors and spiked recession fears. The Shanghai composite surged by 0.8%, closing at 3,342.67 and Hang Seng ended the day 0.1 percent up, at 22,691.88.The breakthrough followed weeks of uncertainty, as both sides announced late Tuesday that top officials would be meeting in Switzerland. It will be the first high-level contact since US President Donald Trump unveiled the “liberation day” tariffs on 2 April.Washington has so far engaged with countries like Japan and South Korea in an attempt to dodge the full impact of its sweeping tariff regime. However, no such signs of dialogue with Beijing were visible until now.US treasury secretary Scott Bessent told Fox News he and trade representative Jamieson Greer would be holding a meeting with China’s vice premier He Lifeng to lay the foundations for more detailed negotiations."We will agree what we're going to talk about. My sense is that this will be about de-escalation, not about the big trade deal," Bessent told "The Ingraham Angle" show.“We’ve got to de-escalate before we can move forward.”China's commerce ministry vowed to stand by its principles and "defend justice" during the talks, emphasising that the US must acknowledge the damage caused by its unilateral tariff moves. It further warned, "If the US talks in one way and acts in another, or even attempts to continue to coerce and blackmail China under the guise of talks, China will never agree."China-US tariff saga and stock marketsThe tit for tat of retaliatory tariffs between the two nations began after US President Donald Trump slapped Chinese goods with tariffs amounting to 145 percent, prompting Beijing to respond with 125 percent duties and other targeted measures. The measure has left markets on edge, with investors hoping the latest dialogue could offer a much-needed reprieve.Markets across Asia responded positively after the reports of trade talks meeting. Hong Kong, Shanghai, Singapore, Sydney, Seoul, Taipei, Wellington, Manila, Bangkok, and Jakarta all traded in green. However, Tokyo dipped slightly, while London and Paris edged lower while Frankfurt finished flat.Investors' sentiments were also aided by Beijing’s latest attempt to boost the economy, as the People’s Bank of China unveiled a series of monetary easing steps, including reducing interest rate for the first time home purchases with loan terms over five years, after the country faced a major economic crisis that hampered growth. David Chao at Invesco said, "The market has been expecting for monetary stimulus since the start of the year to boost credit growth and counter external uncertainty.”"Therefore today's rate cuts are likely to satisfy the market's demand for stimulus, at least for a while."