HONG KONG, Sept 24 (Reuters) - China and Hong Kong stocks extended losses on Thursday as investors remained sceptical that a meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Washington would produce a broader breakthrough.
China's blue-chip CSI300 Index .CSI300 fell 1.3% by the lunch break, while the Shanghai Composite Index .SSEC lost roughly 1%.
Hong Kong's benchmark Hang Seng Index .HSI was down 0.5%.
Trump welcomed Xi to Washington on Wednesday for a three-day visit that will test relations between the two superpowers.
Views on AI cooperation and chip controls
Sanjeev Rana, head of north Asia semiconductors research at CLSA, said while there are expectations around Beijing and Washington working together on AI development and making AI safe, he does not foresee any relaxation on the chip export controls from the US side.
Some investors are more positive. "Trump is a very pragmatic president, and he understands comparative strength in the global economy very well," said Charles Wang, chairman of Shenzhen Dragon Pacific Capital Management.
"I think US-China relations is evolving from outright confrontation, toward mutual understanding, compromise and a framework of co-existence," he said.
Sector weakness broadens across the market
Most sectors were lower by midday, led by gold equities .CSI931238, materials .HSCIM, and AI hardware stocks .CSI931079.
The broad selloff also mirrored overnight weakness on Wall Street, where stocks retreated as higher oil prices and rising U.S. Treasury yields weighed on sentiment.
On the other hand, energy .HSCIE and shipping stocks .HSSH listed in Hong Kong outperformed.
Trade truce extension supports sentiment, but expectations stay muted
Xi's first trip to the US in nearly three years was not expected to yield major breakthroughs, but Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the two countries agreed to extend the trade truce by two months.
The extension is "shorter than market expectations" for a one-year rollover but nonetheless helps preserve stability in the bilateral relationship, UBS said in a sales note.
Also weighing on sentiment was the absence of a delegation of Chinese business leaders during Xi's visit, which Beijing had sought to bring for meetings with Trump, Reuters reported, citing sources.
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