UBS sees ‘potential for resolution’ in the US-China trade talks despite current ‘volatility’

Negotiations between the U.S. and China may appear volatile at times, but there’s still a chance the two countries could resolve their differences over the longer term, the chairman of UBS said on Saturday.

“You have to look through these because there’ve been ups and downs in these negotiations, there’s been a lot of volatility on both sides about these negotiations,” Axel Weber, chairman of the Swiss wealth management giant, told CNBC.

“What we’re interested in is the long term developments and whilst there is a big dispute at the moment, I think there’s also potential for resolution. And the potential for resolution lies in the very fact that trade is really beneficial to both sides,” he said.

The International Monetary Fund warned that elevated tariffs as a result of the U.S.-China dispute could shave 0.8% off global economic output in 2020 — and potentially result in further losses in the following years.

Both the U.S. and China would not be spared from such adverse economic impact — that’s one of the factors that would continue to prod both parties to return to the negotiating table, predicted Weber.