Year Of The Snake

Stock prices soared today on a better-than-expected April US employment report and news that China is evaluating US overtures to start trade negotiations. In the Chinese zodiac, 2025 is the Year of the Snake. It began on January 29, 2025. It is shaping up to be a bad year for China's economy.

We've been thinking that the Chinese are less likely to blink than President Donald Trump in his trade war with China. He has blinked, but he hasn't reduced the 145% tariff on Chinese imports. What he has done is to repeatedly state confidence in reaching a trade agreement with China. In April 2025, he told reporters that the US was in talks with China and expected a "very good" deal within three to four weeks, claiming that Chinese officials, including President Xi Jinping, had reached out multiple times. He described China as eager to negotiate due to the pressure of US tariffs, saying, "They have to make a deal—because otherwise, they’re not gonna be able to deal in the United States."