Official data will come in time, but everyone is impatient and wants information faster. The FT report noted that “scheduled container volumes are plummeting at the Port of Los Angeles”. According to the IMF, the port accounts for more than 15 per cent of all US imports, with the vast majority of that being shipped from China.

China has advanced this year's stimulus plans but is holding off on fresh measures as it tries to maintain composure, betting on Washington blinking first in a protracted trade war.

The view that the Chinese leadership was desperate to negotiate a trade deal, to avoid economic pain that could destabilize Chinese society and threaten the Chinese Communist Party’s monopoly on power, is common among China hawks in the United States. This analysis is partly accurate, but it has led many to draw false conclusions.