Weekly Voyage: Mr. Trump Visits China, No Sign of Near Term Trade War Escalation

Research evidence excerpt

Weekly Voyage: Mr. Trump Visits China, No Sign of Near Term Trade War Escalation

Deutsche Bank

Research

North America Industry Date

United States 18 May 2026

Weekly Voyage

Industrials Industry Update

Shipping

Mr. Trump Visits China, No Sign of Near

Term Trade War Escalation

Chris Robertson

Last week, US President Trump was in Beijing to meet with Chinese leader Xi

Research Analyst

Jinping at the latest US-China summit. According to the Chinese Commerce +1-212-250-9995

Ministry, the two counties have agreed to expand agricultural trade through tariff

reductions and increased market access and it was reported that China has agreed

to purchase at least $17 Bn in U.S. agricultural products through 2028. It is possible

that Chinese tariffs on U.S. soybeans will be reduced, allowing private Chinese

crushers and not just state crop traders to purchase U.S. soybeans. As it relates to

the shipping markets, this could have positive implications for dry bulk tonne-mile

demand.

Broadly speaking, the outcome of the Summit was seemingly positive for shipping

markets as there have been no new announcements around resuming a tariff

escalation or trade war between the U.S. and China. This, in turn, paves the way for

bilateral trade negotiations to continue.

With regards to Iran, President Trump recent said during an interview that he is, "not

going to be much more patient." The White House said that the U.S. and China

agreed that the Strait of Hormuz should remain open and that President Xi said

China opposed militarization of the Strait and any effort to charge a toll for its use.

Beyond these general statements, it is difficult to know whether or not China will

take any specific action in the Middle East.

This week, Star Bulk Carriers (SBLK) reports 1Q26 earnings on Thursday morning