By Chibuike Oguh and Sruthi Shankar NEW YORK (Reuters) -Wall Street stocks advanced on Friday, notching the second straight week of gains, helped by strong economic data and potential easing of trade tensions between the U.

Officials in Beijing said they want Washington to “show sincerity,” as it evaluates purported overtures by the U.S. to start trade negotiations.

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.