US Sees “Progress” After Call With China Discussing Phase 1 Deal; Yuan Jumps

Well, that on again, off again between the US and China to discuss the “progress” on the Phase 1 of the trade deal finally took place tonight, with the US Trade Representative office announcing tonight that Ambassador Lighthizer and Secretary Mnuchin participated in “a regularly scheduled call this evening” with China’s Vice Premier Liu Hu to discuss implementation of the historic Phase One Agreement between the United States and China.

According to the USTR, the parties addressed steps that China has taken to effectuate structural changes called for by the Agreement that will ensure greater protection for intellectual property rights, remove impediments to American companies in the areas of financial services and agriculture, and eliminate forced technology transfer.

Considering that China has done virtually nothing so far, we can only imagine that this was the shortly US-China call in history.

Yet none of that matters, with algos only focusing on the last sentence of the statement according to which “the parties also discussed the significant increases in purchases of U.S. products by China as well as future actions needed to implement the agreement. Both sides see progress and are committed to taking the steps necessary to ensure the success of the agreement.“

And while equity futures remain relatively muted, the yuan rose on the news of “progress” even as US and China sink ever deeper into Cold War 2.