Beijing tests economic outlook after trade truce with US$4 billion Hong Kong bond offering

China’s Ministry of Finance returned to the international bond market for the first time in a year on Wednesday, offering US$4 billion in sovereign notes and giving international investors a chance to register their opinion on the country’s economic outlook amid receding trade tensions.

The issuance in Hong Kong came just days after a truce in the long-simmering US-China trade dispute and followed Beijing’s unveiling of its 15th five-year plan for economic and social development.

“The Ministry of Finance’s latest issuance has received a very positive response from international investors, reflecting the international market’s strong confidence in the growth potential of China’s economy,” said David Liao Yi-chien, co-CEO for Asia and the Middle East with HSBC, the joint lead manager and joint bookrunner of the deal.

Chinese Premier Li Qiang reinforced that message at the opening of the world’s largest import-export fair on Wednesday in Shanghai, where he said all countries must “adhere to equal and mutually beneficial cooperation, embrace free markets and free trade, and resolve cross-border contradictions and problems”.