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· The dollar trod water on Friday as a week of mixed messages on the prospect of China-U.S. tariff rollbacks left traders on edge and currency markets paralyzed, ahead of the release of closely-watched manufacturing data.

While the headlines tugged sentiment in all directions, the greenback was steady against the safe-haven Japanese yen at 108.63 yen per dollar, more or less where it began the week.

It was marginally weaker against the euro at $1.1061, flat on the Antipodean dollars and steady against a basket of currencies at 97.958.

China’s yuan, which is highly sensitive to trade news, was stable at 7.0313 per dollar. The British pound was steady at $1.2914, hemmed below $1.30 by the strong dollar and the uncertain outcome of the Dec. 12 election.

· The United States is concerned about China’s attempts to influence Taiwan’s presidential election, the top U.S. official in Taiwan said on Friday, as China stepped up pressure on the self-ruled island ahead of the vote in January.

The comment came days after Taiwan denounced China for trying to interfere in its democratic process ahead of the Jan. 11 elections for the presidency and legislature, including sailing an aircraft carrier group through the Taiwan Strait on Sunday.

· As investors and technologists worry that the U.S. is falling behind in the race for dominance in blockchain, Beijing is trying to get ahead.

“In a bear market for crypto we make friends; in a bull market we make money,” said Rae Deng, founding partner of Du Capital, a crypto investment firm based in Singapore.

Deng said at CNBC’s East Tech West conference in the Nansha district of Guangzhou, China she sees another flourishing crypto scene coming, with more Chinese investment striding to the market after Beijing suddenly announced plans to embrace blockchain technology.

· The U.S. and China may not be able to lock down a firm “phase one” deal before the next tariff deadline in mid-December, according to a senior executive at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

A deal is would be seen as a step in de-escalating trade tensions between the world’s two largest economies.

But some of that enthusiasm has dissipated since Chinese Vice Premier Liu He’s Washington visit in October, said Myron Brilliant, executive vice president and head of international affairs at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Liu is also the chief trade negotiator for China.

“This is the sixth time I’ve sat down with Liu He in two years. What I said to him is ‘Don’t overshoot.’ China very much wants to see a rollback on the tariffs. By the way, so does the American business community,” he said, adding that the levies have affected consumers, retailers, manufacturers and farmers alike.

· Japan seized the last event of its G20 presidency on Friday to reject a South Korean warning about radiation from the ruined Fukushima nuclear plant as a dispute between the neighbours threatened to overshadow the meetings.

Foreign ministers from the Group of 20 (G20) nations gathered in the central Japanese city of Nagoya for two days of talks, just as an intelligence-sharing pact between Japan and South Korea is set to expire.

In a sign of the discord, South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha had yet to officially confirm whether she would attend, although a diplomatic source told Reuters she would be arriving in Nagoya later on Friday.

Relations between Japan and South Korea, both U.S. allies, have been upended by a dispute over history that has spilled into trade and other areas.

· Nobody expects Vietnam to replace China as the world’s major exporter, but the Southeast Asian country certainly appears to be taking some of China’s business with the United States.

In the first nine months of this year, U.S. imports from Vietnam jumped 34.8% year on year, accelerating from a 5.8% gain in all of 2018, according to a Thursday note by consultancy IHS Markit. In comparison, U.S. imports from mainland China shrank 13.4% year on year in the January-to-September period, the note said.

Tariffs were a major reason behind the decline in U.S. imports from China, said Michael Ryan, IHS Markit’s associate director of comparative industry service, who wrote the note.

He added that Vietnam’s fastest growing export categories to the U.S. are computers, telephone equipment and other machinery.

· China wants to work out an initial trade pact with the United States and has been trying to avoid a trade war, President Xi Jinping said on Friday, but is not afraid to retaliate when necessary.

Economists warn that a prolonged dispute between the world’s two largest economies is elevating risks to the global economy by disrupting supply chains, curtailing investment and curbing business confidence.

“We want to work for a ‘phase one’ agreement on the basis of mutual respect and equality,” Xi told representatives of an international forum, according to a pool report.

“When necessary we will fight back, but we have been working actively to try not to have a trade war. We did not initiate this trade war and this is not something we want.”

Xi was responding to questions from representatives of the New Economy Forum organized by Bloomberg LP at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

· China wants to work out an initial trade pact with the United States and has been trying to avoid a trade war, President Xi Jinping said on Friday, but is not afraid to retaliate when necessary.

Economists warn that a prolonged dispute between the world’s two largest economies is elevating risks to the global economy by disrupting supply chains, curtailing investment and curbing business confidence.

· The long-term improving trend for China’s economy will not change, and the economy has great resilience, potential and room for maneuver, China’s President Xi Jinping said on Friday, as reported by official Xinhua News Agency.

Xi, speaking at a meeting with International Monetary Fund Chief Kristalina Georgieva, said he has full confidence in China’s development, according to Xinhua.

· Protesters holed up at a Hong Kong university campus should leave and there is no deadline to clear them, the city’s police chief said on Friday, adding that he hoped for a peaceful resolution to the standoff.

At least eight protesters who had been holding out at the trashed Polytechnic University surrendered to police in the early hours of Friday, while others desperately searched for escape routes as riot officers surrounded the campus.

· Oil prices pulled back from their highest levels in nearly two months on Friday amid lingering doubts on whether the United States and China will be able to reach a partial trade deal that would lift some pressure on the global economy.

That was more than enough to offset news of a likely extension of production cuts by major producers that drove prices higher in the previous session.

Brent crude futures LCOc1 dropped 34 cents, or 0.53%, to $63.63 a barrel by 0745 GMT, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures CLc1 fell 31 cents, also down 0.53%, to $58.27 per barrel.