After much back and forth it looks like the planets are aligning, and the momentum moving firmly towards a “mini-deal” between the United States and China. Over the weekend, the Office of the US Trade Representative and Chinese state media organ Xinhua both published statements suggesting that a deal is near and while the substance might be underwhelming for some, economic data from both Beijing and Washington emphasises the need for a sticking plaster to alleviate some trade war pain.

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