China and the US heading for trade breakthrough

Just when it looked like an all-out trade war between China and the US, it seems the two sides have had constructive discussions for a deal which means when Donald Trump and Xi Zinping meet this coming week, it should be all smiles and bear hugs. This is the way Trump does business, and the Chinese leader has been copying him. So, initially it was all tariff war, tarrif war and then out of the blue, Washington and Beijing step back and a deal is done. I don't know whether this is the best way of doing business but it seems to work in Trump's case. It was Beijing that dealt the biggest blow when China announced new restrictions on the export of its vast supply of processed rare earth metals which would have had a major negative impact on the production of a huge range of goods, such as mobile phones, electric cars and solar panels. Trump was so angry he started talking about imposing enormous tariffs on China. However, the brinkmanship game has come to an end, and Trump and Xi Zinping will be back to being friends. The poor stock market doesn't know where to look. It's up one moment and then plunging down the next. But the Trump/Xi session during the US president's Asia tour should settle the waters and bring a bit of calm back to the world economy.