The decks are being cleared for the signing of “phase one” of a trade agreement between the US and China. With translations done, both sides are ready for the signing in Washington tomorrow. The US has even sweetened the deal by removing China from its “currency manipulator” list (which it was put on back in August). This was an easy win for both sides as no reasonable assessment of the yuan would suggest that the PBoC has been manipulating it (if anything the opposite). So for the US to magnanimously remove this status is simply good optics in front of the deal which helps relations, but effectively achieves little ... (full story)