The China trade wars from the first Trump administration were tiresome, since they went on for months, jolted the market every time there was an announcement of “trade talks are going well” (it became a meme at the time), and, in the end, resulted in a laughable deal in which, effectively, the United States paid a huge sum of money for the sake of the creation of a few tens of thousands of jobs to make the whole charade look like a success. Suffice it to say, the U.S. didn’t dominate China after those talks were done, nor will they do it this time.

Even so, the fresh memory of the giant rally about a month ago (green tint) based on nothing more than Bessent and China putting a pause on tariffs, compels people to continue to load up on stocks, since Bessent is in London at this very moment doing Round Two with his counterparts from the middle kingdom. I imagine before Tuesday’s session is over, there will be some other flavor of “trade talks are going well, and we’ll meet yet again”. This will go on until the end of 2028.