Donald Trump’s visit to Beijing produced a series of economic and financial agreements of “significant” scope, but with still vague contours, sufficient to generate differentiated reactions on global markets. In fact, the summit ended with what the American president defined as “fantastic trade agreements, excellent for our two countries”, although without providing detailed figures. For this reason, economists urge caution and the markets have welcomed the news arriving from Beijing with a mixture of euphoria and caution. According to UBP’s analysis, the summit is expected to produce mostly symbolic results and a temporary truce rather than real strategic changeWhile Bloomberg describes the relationship as “fragile.”
The energy dossier and oil
At the center of the agreements is the Chinese promise to return to purchasing US crude oil, in a context in which China has not imported oil from the United States since May 2025 due to the 20% tariffs. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has indicated that Alaskan production should be considered an almost natural outlet for the People’s Republic of China. US President Donald Trump told Fox News that China has agreed to buy oil from the United States: “They have agreed to buy oil from the United States, they will go to Texas, they will start sending Chinese ships to Texas, to Louisiana and to Alaska.”
Brent futures gained 1.49% to $107.30 a barrel, while the US WTI contract rose 1.55% to $102.74 a barrel, also supported by the persistent closure of the Strait of Hormuz, despite the two leaders agreeing that crude flows through the Strait must resume and that no tolls should be imposed on ships in transit. According to FXEmpire analysts, a positive outcome of the talks would contribute to lightening the geopolitical premium and calming the prices of both Brent and WTI.
Boeing between euphoria and correction
Boeing stock has experienced a week of strong volatility. Stocks rose 3% in Thursday’s pre-market session, following Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s announcement that he expected large Chinese orders. However, the figure that emerged at the end of the summit was lower than expected and this penalized the stock during the regular session, causing it to drop by around 4%: Trump reported the promise to purchase, made according to him by his guest, 200 “large” Boeings. This is a considerable figure, but less than the order of 500 single-aisle 737 MAX aircraft and a hundred wide-body aircraft (787 Dreamliner and 777) evoked by the press for months. The order, if confirmed, would mark the first purchase of US-made commercial jets by China in almost a decade, but the smaller amount compared to the rumors has dampened the initial enthusiasm.
Soybeans and agricultural products
Benefits also for the agricultural sector. Trump said he pushed China to buy more products from U.S. farms, particularly soybeans. The agreement fits into the framework of the truce already reached last October, which provides for China to resume purchasing large quantities of soybeans from the United States. This is a politically relevant result for the Republican electoral base, with the US administration having deployed in Beijing the strategy of the so-called American “Five B’s” (Boeing, beef, beans, Board of Trade and Board of Investment) against the Chinese “Three T’s” (tariffs, technology, Taiwan). Despite the deal announcement, Soybean Futures closed lower yesterday on the CBOT at just over $11.92 per bushel due to lower-than-expected Department of Agriculture certified orders.
Nvidia’s leap
Nvidia jumped 4% on Wall Street on rumors advanced by Reuters that the United States had authorized a dozen Chinese companies to buy the H200, Nvidia’s second most powerful artificial intelligence chip, although delivery has not yet taken place. Among other things, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang was in the front row among the CEOs who accompanied President Trump to China, fueling expectations of a possible turning point that could unlock sales of the H200 in the Asian country.
