US President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping cemented a temporary trade truce, with Washington agreeing to lower tariffs in return for Beijing’s reprieve on rare earths.
The deal had largely been agreed days earlier in talks between trade officials, but its confirmation eases tensions between the world’s biggest economies: Trump said he would halve 20% tariffs imposed over China’s alleged unwillingness to combat fentanyl trafficking, and announced he would visit Beijing in April; Xi agreed to a one-year moratorium on previously announced rare-earths export curbs.
Still, the agreement falls short of a comprehensive trade deal or a structural realignment in the countries’ rivalry: Talks between the pair “will go on for a long time,” Trump acknowledged.