Is the Trump administration about to deliver a pre-Christmas present to China — and the markets? That is the $360bn question for investors.

During the last couple of years Washington and Beijing have waged an escalating war of words — and tariffs — as President Donald Trump has tried to reset the terms of US-China trade. But on Thursday, China’s state-owned television quoted government officials saying that the US-Chinese negotiators “would like to remove some of the additional tariffs in phases”.

This comes amid signs that a so-called “phase one” deal could soon be signed between Mr Trump and Xi Jinping, unwinding tariffs imposed on $360bn of Chinese imports, just before America’s crucial holiday shopping period. Unsurprisingly, this has sparked pre-seasonal market joy.