Hong Kong, Feb 4 (Reuters) - Chinese stocks listed in

Hong Kong surged on Tuesday as investors loaded up on AI and EV

shares, despite looming U.S. tariffs on China.

U.S. President Trump's 10% levy on Chinese goods is due to

go into effect at 1:01 pm in Beijing (0501 GMT), but investors

hope Trump's last-minute decision to suspend imminent tariffs on

Canada and Mexico may signal there is room to negotiate.

Trump's press secretary said the president will speak with

Chinese President Xi Jinping in the next couple of days.

"With Trump delaying tariffs on Canada and Mexico, will

there be negotiations before further escalation on China as

well? The market thinks there could still be room for talks,"

Jason Chan, senior investment strategist at Bank of East Asia.

The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index jumped 2.6% at

midday trading break to a three-month high, while Hang Seng Tech

Index surged 3.9%. The benchmark Hang Seng index

added 2%.

AI-related stocks led the rally as investors continued to

pile up wagers on home-grown firms after startup DeepSeek

released a large language model at a cheap cost.

China's top chipmaker SMIC surged as much as 9% to

a record high, and peer Hua Hong Semiconductor

advanced 8.7%.

The EV sector also lifted the market, with carmaker XPeng ( XPEV )

jumping 12.6% after the company said it delivered a

nearly three-fold increase in smart EVs in January year-on-year.

Financial markets in mainland China will reopen on Wednesday

after the long Lunar New Year holiday, and are poised to play

catch-up with global markets, he added.

China's benchmark blue chip index fell 3% in

January before the holiday, surrendering nearly half of

September's 40% rally.

The markets may look through the political noise to focus on

China's responses to U.S. tariffs and the upcoming National

People's Congress (NPC) meeting in the next few weeks, analysts

at Citi said in a note.

Capital Economics said the additional 10% tariff that Donald

Trump has applied on Chinese goods will have a relatively modest

impact on China's economy, especially if the PBOC allows the

yuan to adjust, but predicted the trade war with the U.S. will

be protracted.