Very strong signals being sent by China once they returned home from their long trip, including stops, from Argentina. Not to sound naive or anything, but I believe President Xi meant every word of what he said at our long and hopefully historic meeting. ALL subjects discussed! ||||| LISTEN TO ARTICLE 4:12 SHARE THIS ARTICLE Share Tweet Post Email 
 
 U.S. President Donald Trump said China is sending “very strong signals” following weekend trade discussions in Argentina, as uncertainty remains over what commitments were made between the two nations. 
 
 “Not to sound naive or anything, but I believe President Xi meant every word of what he said at our long and hopefully historic meeting,” Trump said on Twitter Wednesday. “ALL subjects discussed!” 
 
 Very strong signals being sent by China once they returned home from their long trip, including stops, from Argentina. Not to sound naive or anything, but I believe President Xi meant every word of what he said at our long and hopefully historic meeting. ALL subjects discussed! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 5, 2018 
 
 Beijing will start to quickly implement specific items where there’s consensus with the U.S. and will push forward on trade negotiations within the 90-day "timetable and road map," the Ministry of Commerce said in a statement on Wednesday morning in China. 
 
 Hours later, Bloomberg News reported that officials have begun preparing to restart imports of U.S. soybeans and liquefied natural gas -- the first sign confirming the claims of Trump and the White House that China had agreed to start buying some U.S. products "immediately." Trump retweeted an edited excerpt of that article Wednesday. 
 
 In China, a Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman said that country hopes to speed up talks and is devoted to finding a solution to settle issues. 
 
 Global markets cheered the weekend accord on Monday, only to reverse course Tuesday as doubts emerged over exactly what the world’s two largest economies had agreed on. While Asian and European equities dropped Wednesday in the wake of the biggest slide in stocks on Wall Street since the mid-October downdraft, U.S. futures advanced after the statement from China echoed Trump’s optimism over bilateral trade talks. 
 
 The Ministry of Commerce statement described the meeting with the U.S. as “very successful” and said China is “confident” of implementing the results agreed upon at the talks, but didn’t provide any further details on the outcome. It was the first official confirmation from China that there’s a 90-day window for the talks. 
 
 China and the U.S. announced a truce in their trade war after the meeting between Trump and Xi Jinping on Saturday, but that quickly descended into confusion, with both sides announcing different statements on what was agreed. There’s also been confusion just on the U.S. side, with the White House, Trump and his advisers making conflicting statements as to the details of a deal. 
 
 “One of the very exciting things to come out of my meeting with President Xi of China is his promise to me to criminalize the sale of deadly Fentanyl coming into the United States. It will now be considered a ‘controlled substance,”’ Trump said in another tweet Wednesday, subsequently adding that China would see "incredible" results if it imposed the death penalty on "distributors and pushers." 
 
 The White House statement listed what it claimed China had promised to do. The most detailed explanation of what the Chinese say they agreed to came from Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Saturday in Argentina. He told reporters that China had said it was willing to "expand imports according to the needs of its domestic market and people, including importing marketable products from the US to gradually ease the trade imbalances," adding that both sides had agreed to open their markets to each other. 
 
 Chinese officials have been told to take necessary steps for the soybeans and liquefied natural gas purchases, according to two officials with knowledge of the discussions. It wasn’t clear whether the preparations meant China would cut the retaliatory tariffs it imposed on those products, or when the purchases would happen. 
 
 Chinese purchases of the goods collapsed after Beijing imposed tariffs on them in retaliation for U.S. import taxes. 
 
 Bean and Gone China's imports of U.S. soy in October were the lowest for the month since at least 2004 China Customs General Administration 
 
 China also announced an array of punishments that could restrict companies’ access to borrowing and state-funding support over intellectual-property theft. It set out a total of 38 different punishments to be applied to IP violations, starting this month. The document, dated Nov. 21, was released Tuesday by the National Development and Reform Commission and signed by various government bodies, including the central bank and supreme court. 
 
 Trump, who on Tuesday described himself as "Tariff Man," continues to ratchet up pressure on China, saying there will be a "REAL DEAL with China, or no deal at all." 
 
 We are either going to have a REAL DEAL with China, or no deal at all - at which point we will be charging major Tariffs against Chinese product being shipped into the United States. Ultimately, I believe, we will be making a deal - either now or into the future.... — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 5, 2018 
 
 — With assistance by Yinan Zhao, Steven Yang, Dandan Li, and Terrence Dopp ||||| The meeting between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping in Argentina was a success, according to both governments: China pledged to open its market and Washington agreed to postpone raising tariffs. But can China deliver on its promises? Screenshot: CCTV 
 
 BEIJING—China is beginning to flesh out details of a weekend tariff truce with the U.S., after days of vague Chinese statements and a barrage of comments from President Trump and other administration officials. 
 
 China’s Commerce Ministry in a statement Wednesday acknowledged for the first time that Beijing on Saturday agreed to a 90-day cease-fire to allow negotiations to take place. The statement, attributed to an unnamed spokesman, said that the negotiations have a “clear timeline and road map” and that China aims to quickly... ||||| A woman walks past an electronic board showing Hong Kong share index outside a local bank in Hong Kong, Wednesday, Dec. 5, 2018. Shares were moderately lower in Asia on Wednesday following a bloodletting... (Associated Press) 
 
 A woman walks past an electronic board showing Hong Kong share index outside a local bank in Hong Kong, Wednesday, Dec. 5, 2018. Shares were moderately lower in Asia on Wednesday following a bloodletting on Wall Street as goodwill generated by a truce between the U.S. and China over trade evaporated... (Associated Press) 
 
 A woman walks past an electronic board showing Hong Kong share index outside a local bank in Hong Kong, Wednesday, Dec. 5, 2018. Shares were moderately lower in Asia on Wednesday following a bloodletting on Wall Street as goodwill generated by a truce between the U.S. and China over trade evaporated... (Associated Press) A woman walks past an electronic board showing Hong Kong share index outside a local bank in Hong Kong, Wednesday, Dec. 5, 2018. Shares were moderately lower in Asia on Wednesday following a bloodletting... (Associated Press) 
 
 BEIJING (AP) — The latest on China-U.S. trade developments (all times local): 
 
 9:37 a.m. 
 
 President Donald Trump is expressing optimism that China will to push forward with a cease fire on trade as tensions between Washington and Beijing escalates. 
 
 Trump tweeted early Wednesday that Beijing is sending "very strong signals" about a new trade framework since returning from talks over the weekend in Buenos Aires. 
 
 China's Commerce Ministry did say on its website that it would begin "implementing specific issues on which consensus has been reached," but the vague statement included no details. 
 
 Global markets did not express the same optimism, selling off in both Europe and Asia. U.S. markets are closed Wednesday in honor of former President George H.W. Bush, who died Friday. 
 
 However, the Dow Jones industrial average plunged 800 points Tuesday over confusion about what the U.S and China will do going forward, and investors are looking for hints as what to expect Thursday when markets open again.
– Though US markets are closed Wednesday in honor of former President George HW Bush, after Tuesday's 800-point plunge investors will be looking for hints as to what to expect Thursday morning, and all eyes are on China. Tuesday's sell-off was sparked by uncertainty over what exactly Trump and Xi Jinping agreed to do in their Saturday meeting, and President Trump championed optimism in a Wednesday tweet, expressing his belief that China will push forward with a cease fire on trade. "Very strong signals being sent by China once they returned home from their long trip, including stops, from Argentina. Not to sound naive or anything, but I believe President Xi meant every word of what he said at our long and hopefully historic meeting. ALL subjects discussed!" The latest: The AP reports China's Commerce Ministry did say on its website that it would begin "implementing specific issues on which consensus has been reached," but the vague statement included no details. Bloomberg gets a little firmer, reporting Chinese officials are getting ready to start importing soybeans and liquefied natural gas from the US again, which it sees as an indication that the administration's claims that China will "immediately" start importing some American products again are true. And "demand for those products is immense," notes the Wall Street Journal. Still, questions remain regarding timeline, whether the retaliatory tariffs on those products will be lifted, and how much China will buy. Bloomberg also notes the ministry's statement said China will indeed take part in trade talks within the 90-day "timetable and road map," marking confirmation from China that a 90-day window has been established for the negotiations. US officials say the 90 days started Saturday; China didn't specify a start date. The Journal reports on another possible concession that's moving forward: China's supreme court and relevant government agencies this week announced 38 punishments for companies that commit intellectual property theft, a pain point for the US that China has thus far not done much to address.