Report published September 14, 2026

China: Market Expectations for the Upcoming Trump-Xi Meeting – Goldman Sachs Survey

Goldman Sachs · September 14, 2026

A Goldman Sachs investor survey ahead of the upcoming Washington summit reveals that roughly two-thirds of market participants view the Trump-Xi meeting as largely symbolic, with trade policy seen as the most viable area for tangible progress. Goldman Sachs projects a managed and fragile détente between the US and China, with limited upside for the yuan but moderate upside expected by offshore investors for Chinese equities.

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Finvaulta summarizes Goldman Sachs's analysis. Attribute opinions, forecasts, time-sensitive values, and chronology to the issuer and report date; do not treat this page as an independent verification or a current market-data source.

Key Takeaways

1.Around two-thirds of surveyed investors expect President Xi's upcoming visit to Washington to be largely symbolic, though onshore investors are comparatively more constructive on incremental progress (38%) than offshore investors (26%).
2.Trade policy is viewed across both onshore and offshore investors as the primary area for tangible progress, whereas expectations for deliverables in cross-strait relations or cross-border investment remain subdued.
3.Investors anticipate limited currency impact, expecting CNY appreciation to hold steady or slow, while offshore investors display greater optimism than onshore peers regarding Chinese equity performance one month post-meeting.

Overall expectations
Potential deliverables
US-China relations after the midterms
USD/CNY
Chinese equities

Report data

Around two-thirds of respondents expect President Xi's visit to be symbolic, while one-third expect incremental progress

Metric	Estimate	Context
Offshore respondents proportion	80.0%	Share of total respondents based offshore in the investor survey
Expectation of incremental progress (Onshore)	38.0%	Percentage of onshore investors expecting incremental progress from the summit
Expectation of incremental progress (Offshore)	26.0%	Percentage of offshore investors expecting incremental progress from the summit
Post-midterm US-China tension broadly unchanged	66.7%	Proportion of respondents expecting US-China tensions to remain broadly unchanged after US midterms
Offshore investors expecting moderate equity gains post-summit	46.0%	Share of offshore respondents expecting moderate gains in Chinese equities 1M after the summit