Japanese Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato drew attention by mentioning that the country’s more than $1.1 trillion in U.S. Treasury bonds could potentially be a “card on the table” in negotiations with Washington over Trump’s steep tariffs on autos and other imports.

China said it is evaluating U.S. officials’ willingness to negotiate trade talks, giving a spark of hope for de-escalating the trade war between the world’s largest two economies.