Bridgewater founder Ray Dalio speaks in Shanghai on April 8, 2026.
CNBC
SHANGHAI/BEIJING — Hedge fund magnate Ray Dalio is optimistic {that a} extremely anticipated assembly subsequent month of the U.S. and Chinese language presidents can go a good distance towards soothing bilateral tensions.
“The following assembly can have a selected emphasis on commerce, but in addition capital flows,” the founding father of Bridgewater Associates informed CNBC’s Eunice Yoon on Wednesday in Shanghai.
Dalio mentioned he anticipated the 2 leaders to exhibit “empathy” and work by way of challenges collectively. “Traders must be inspired by this stuff,” he mentioned, noting it “carries by way of” to investments and markets.
Whereas the three main U.S. averages have rebounded from losses throughout commerce tensions a couple of 12 months in the past, the S&P 500 remains to be down greater than 3% thus far this 12 months, due partially to considerations stemming from the Iran warfare.
U.S. President Donald Trump is scheduled to go to Beijing on Might 14 and 15 to satisfy with Chinese language President Xi Jinping. Trump was initially set to journey in late March, however delayed the plans because of the Iran warfare.
Lack of contact between the U.S. and China is “the most important supply” of bilateral tensions, mentioned Dalio, carrying a pin bearing each the U.S. and Chinese language flags.
He was in Shanghai for a ceremony marking the tip of a 10-day ocean exploration voyage that was organized by his non-profit OceanX and U.S. and Chinese language teams to assist bilateral relations. Dalio based OceanX in 2016 together with his son Mark to advertise exploration and stewardship of ocean assets.
The U.S. consul basic in Shanghai and a vice mayor of the Chinese language metropolis additionally attended the Shanghai occasion. Ten college students from every of the 2 nations participated within the journey, which began in Hong Kong.
The “Chinese language-American relationships and the oceans are the 2 most vital issues for the well-being of humanity,” Dalio mentioned.
As U.S.-China tensions escalated over time, local weather has been broadly seen as a uncommon space of cooperation between the 2 nations.
A Trump-Xi assembly subsequent month might be the primary of 4 occasions the 2 leaders see one another in individual this 12 months, Dalio famous. The “world order’s altering and these two leaders want to debate how greatest to method that,” he added.
The presidents of the world’s two largest economies met in South Korea final fall, the place they agreed to decrease tariffs for one 12 months. Beijing additionally postponed implementation of stricter uncommon earth export controls by the identical interval.
When requested in regards to the Iran warfare and Trump’s two-week ceasefire announcement, Dalio emphasised that buyers ought to look past the “information of the day” and mentioned a “world warfare of types is occurring.” In a LinkedIn put up revealed Tuesday, he mentioned the present mixture of army confrontations, geopolitical and financial tensions bore comparability to previous world wars.