Chinese vice premier heads to D.C. for next round of trade talks

Yes, but: China runs the risks of offering too little again, so the pressure is on Liu and his team to at least show the U.S. side they are sincere, because if Liu leaves D.C. and the word out of the talks is the two sides are still far apart, the markets may get nervous.

My thought bubble: Chill out ... this will continue to be a grind, but I still believe Xi is very motivated to make a deal. The trade war is one more risk he does not want right now.

• More importantly I hear he is very concerned about the push from some U.S. officials toward "decoupling" and so views a deal as a way to blunt those forces even as the U.S.-China competition heats up across multiple dimensions.