What Changed After the U.S.-China Summit?

Added: 2026-06-01

[00:00:00]Welcome to Thoughts on the Market. I'm Michael Zezas, Morgan Stanley's Deputy Global Head of Research.

[00:00:06]Today, we're talking [music] about what investors should take away from the recent US-China summit.

[00:00:12]It's Thursday, May 28th at 10:30 a.m. in New York.

[00:00:18]It's been 2 weeks since the much-anticipated US-China summit, where Presidents Trump and Xi met to discuss a wide array of issues in the relationship.

[00:00:27]Understandably, investors were watching carefully.

[00:00:30]The relationship between the two countries and its potential impact on global economic conditions has been a driver of markets at key intervals.

[00:00:39]Brinksmanship around the trade relationship has been particularly noteworthy.

[00:00:43]In 2025, the level of tariffs substantially influenced macro markets, and export restrictions for semiconductors and rare earths drove volatility in key equity sectors, such as tech hardware.

[00:00:56]Coming into the summit, the two countries had found a tenuous equilibrium, with the policy volatility of last year giving way to an uneasy calm this year.

[00:01:06]So, did the summit change anything?

[00:01:10]As best we can tell, not really.

[00:01:13]Some modest progress was made in lower sensitivity areas, but investors shouldn't confuse that with a durable reset in relations.

[00:01:22]The summit, in our view, points to a more managed relationship, not a fundamentally stable one.

[00:01:29]Here's what investors should keep in mind.

[00:01:32]At the risk of stating the obvious, the concrete public policy choices of each country matter a lot from here.

[00:01:39]President Trump emphasized renewed investment in the US-China relationship.

[00:01:44]That's good. Talking beats not talking, but the bigger issue is what happens next.

[00:01:50]So far, we haven't seen broad language around joint efforts to establish trade and investment cooperation boards translated into workable arrangements, which if they materialized might hint at a more stable relationship.

[00:02:04]So, net-net for investors, the sum of this best understood as a continuation of the status quo, not a pivot.

[00:02:12]It may reduce near-term tail risks, which is sufficient to support the many other positive drivers pushing equity markets higher, but it does not eliminate the structural forces behind US-China competition.

[00:02:25]That means we'll keep tracking this relationship as an economic and markets catalyst and keep you in the loop.

[00:02:32]Thanks for listening. If you enjoy the show, please take a moment to rate and review us wherever you listen and share thoughts on the market with a friend or [music] colleague today.

[00:02:43]>> The preceding content is informational only and based on information available when created. It is not an offer or solicitation, nor is it tax or legal [music] advice. It does not consider your financial circumstances and objectives and may not be suitable for you.