U.S. Orders for Chinese Goods Surge Before Trump-Xi Summit — SkimNews
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- China Beige Book surveyed 1,295 Chinese firms from Sept. 1-22 and reported its U.S. orders gauge jumped to 13 in September, from negative-12 a year earlier and 3 in August, calling the increase a 'surprise'
- Overall Chinese domestic and export orders remained below year-ago levels and new orders weakened from August, contrasting sharply with the U.S.-specific surge
- The U.S. and China agreed to extend their trade truce by two months to January, keeping tariffs lower, suspending restrictive rare earth export controls, and holding off higher port fees on ships
- The U.S. was reportedly planning to delay a threatened round of tariffs tied to industrial overcapacity until at least after this week's summit, easing near-term pressure on Chinese exporters
- Barclays pegs the effective U.S. tariff rate on Chinese goods at around 23%, well above the average levy on other major trading partners
- Eurasia Group raised its odds of continued bilateral stability to the highest level since Trump returned to office, with analyst Dan Wang noting 'neither government has an interest in renewed escalation'
- Xi Jinping is in Washington this week for his first state visit in more than a decade, with further meetings expected at APEC in Shenzhen in November and potentially the G20 in Miami in December
Why it matters: American importers are clearly betting the truce holds — the U.S. orders gauge swung 25 points from -12 to +13 in a year — but the two-month extension and the still-elevated 23% effective tariff rate mean this stability is fragile and must survive both leaders' next encounters in November and December.
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