In the news: U.S. Secretary of State visits Beijing, the CFDA proposes to speed up drug market access, and Wanda and IBM establish a cloud JV

Rex Tillerson meets President Xi, FM Wang Yi in Beijing  

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson appeared to strike a cordial tone during his visit to Beijing—the highest-level face-to-face meeting between the U.S. and China since President Donald Trump took office. He said that the United States is looking forward to the first meeting between the two presidents, and that Trump places a “very high value” on communications with President Xi Jinping. The two sides made no mention of contentious issues such as possible punitive trade measures against China and Washington's unhappiness with Beijing's actions in the South China Sea. Tillerson's PRC trip followed remarks he made in South Korea two days earlier, that pre-emptive military action against North Korea may be necessary if the threat from its weapons program reaches a level that requires action. Any signs of progress in U.S.-China relations will be a major boost to market sentiment. Tillerson's visit—and avoidance of the anti-China rhetoric of the Trump election campaign—suggests that world panic may actually be avoided. If the friendly approach were abandoned and Trump's threats of punitive tariffs in China are realized, the retaliatory measures and global fallout would scars investors and consumers alike. Now let's look ahead to a Trump-Xi summit.

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