Welcome to Thoughts on the Market.

I'm Michael Zezis, Head of Public Policy Research and Municipal Strategy for Morgan Sandley.

Along with my colleagues bringing you a variety of perspectives, I'll be talking about

the intersection between U.S. public policy and financial markets.

It's Tuesday, August 10th at 1 p.m. in New York.

With the Senate set to join the House later this week on recess, we turn our attention

from domestic to international affairs.

This morning, we hosted a webcast with key experts on the relationship between the U.S.

and China.

That relationship in many ways drove markets in 2018 and 2019 as the powers engaged in

a confrontation over trade policy leading to substantial increases in tariffs.

COVID created a break in that dynamic, but we think the relationship could return to the

forefront of investor's minds over the rest of this year and next.

Here are our top three takeaways from the webcast earlier today.

First, our panelists say plenty of catalysts to drive headlines of U.S.-China tensions

are on the horizon.

The coming weeks could see some details of the U.S. study into the origins of COVID-19

leak into press headlines.

The Winter Olympics in Beijing, only about six months away, could be preceded by calls

for U.S. companies to boycott sponsorship.

And of course, 2022 is a midterm election year in the U.S. and given polling showing widespread

mistrust of China by voters across party lines, expect both political parties to employ

...