Newsletters
The Chinese yuan climbed to its highest level against the U.S. dollar in three years on Thursday as Chinese President Xi Jinping hosted U.S. President Donald Trump in Beijing for their first summit meeting since 2017.
By 7:30 a.m. GMT, the dollar/yuan exchange rate hovered around 6.78, while China’s Shanghai Composite index fell roughly 1.5% during trading.
Oil prices moved slightly higher, with Brent crude rising 0.3% to $106 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate crude rising to $101.40 per barrel as the Iran war continues to fuel supply constraints in global energy markets.
Asian markets showed mixed performance. Japan’s Nikkei index dropped 1%, while South Korea’s Kospi advanced 1.8%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index remained largely unchanged.
European markets opened higher, with Germany’s DAX 30 gaining 1%, France’s CAC 40 rising 0.7%, and the UK’s FTSE 100 adding 0.2%.
Gold prices edged up 0.4% to the $4,700 level, while silver slipped 0.3% to $87.2 per ounce. Palladium and platinum also declined, trading near $1,500 and $2,120 per ounce, respectively. Cryptocurrencies weakened as bitcoin and Ethereum both lost around 1.3%, falling below $80,000 and $2,300.
Trump arrived in Beijing alongside several senior American business executives, including Elon Musk, Jensen Huang and Tim Cook. Executives from BlackRock, Blackstone, Boeing, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, Qualcomm and GE Aerospace were also part of the delegation.
Speaking after the opening meetings at the Great Hall of the People, Xi pledged to broaden access for foreign firms operating in China.
"China will continue opening up at a higher level," Xi stated, according to Chinese state media. "U.S. companies can expect broader opportunities in the Chinese market."
Investors expect the two leaders to avoid escalating trade disputes during the visit, with discussions instead centering on artificial intelligence cooperation and technology access.
Earlier reports indicated that Washington had approved sales of Nvidia’s H200 AI chips to around 10 Chinese companies, although deliveries had not yet begun.
Huang described the summit positively after the meetings concluded. "Meetings went well,” he noted. “Mr. Xi and President Trump were incredible."
The agenda for the talks also includes a potential extension of the one-year tariff suspension agreed upon during the leaders’ previous meeting in South Korea last October.
Rare earth export restrictions and growing U.S.-China competition in artificial intelligence are also expected to remain key discussion points during Trump’s visit.
Set as preferred source
Set as preferred source
1 min read
1 min read
