China came to the table

The challenge of China, when faced with US President Donald Trump’s tariffs, was a determining image of this trade war.

This prompted Trump’s viral memorials waiting for the Chinese leader to call.

“We will not back down,” it was an almost daily message from the Beijing Foreign Ministry. While the tariffs and rhetoric of Washington escalated, China dugs its heels.

Even when Chinese officials headed for Switzerland for talk, a state social media account publishes a cartoon of the US Department of Finance Secretary, pushing an empty shopping cart.

There were even controversial versions of who initiated the conversations in Geneva.

But after two days of “stable” conversations, it seems that the situation has changed.

So, this is a major turning point for Washington and Beijing? The answer is yes and no.

“The consensus of both delegations this weekend is not any country that does not want to separate,” said US Department of Finance Secretary Scott Beshen during the time of Press conference in Geneva.

“And what happened to these very high tariffs … was the equivalent of embargo and none of the parties want it. We want trade.”

Economists admit that this agreement is better than expected.

“I thought the tariffs would be shortened somewhere around 50%,” said Jewish Gian, chief economist at Potpoint Asset Management in Hong Kong, in front of Reuters News Agency.

But in fact, US tariffs for Chinese imports will already fall to 30%, while Chinese tariffs for American goods will drop to 10%.

“Obviously, this is a very positive news about economies in both countries and the global economy and makes investors much less concerned about the damage to global supply chains in the short term,” he added.

Trump welcomed the progress on Sunday on his social site for the truth: “Many things discussed, many agreed. Total reset, agreed in a friendly but constructive way.”

Beijing also softened significantly his tone – and maybe for a good reason.

China can absorb the pain of economic war with America – to some extent. He is a leading trading partner for more than 100 other countries.

But officials are becoming increasingly concerned about the impact that tariffs could have on an economy that is already struggling to cope with a property crisis, persistently high unemployment of youth and low consumer confidence.

Factory production is delayed and reports that some companies need to fire workers as the production lines of US -related goods.

Saturday data show that the Consumer Price Index in China dropped by 0.1 percent in April, the third month tidy, as consumers refrain from costs and businesses reduce prices to compete for customers.

The Chinese Ministry of Commerce said on Monday that the agreement reached with the US is an important step in “resolving differences” and “sets the basis for overcoming differences and deepening cooperation.”

Beijing’s such positive statement would seem unthinkable just a month ago.

The two sides have also agreed to more conversations or a “mechanism for economic and commercial consultation,” as Beijing says.

But Trump’s characteristics for “general reset” in relationships can be too optimistic, since there is a slight sting in Beijing’s statement.

The Ministry of Trade ended with a reminder who he sees as the wrong.

“We hope that the US will continue to work with China to meet each other based on this meeting, to completely correct the wrong practice of unilateral increase in tariffs,” the spokesman said.

Chinese state media also had a warning about Washington. The commentary of the Xinhua news agency claims that “China’s kindness and patience has its limits and it will never be used for those who suppress us and blackmail us without pause or have no trouble to return to their word.”

Beijing leaders will want to represent the image of power to both their own people and the international community. They will want to look as if they did not move in. The message from China is that it is responsible and rational and does its best to avoid a global recession.

“This is a victory for conscience and rationality,” said Gian Yun at the School of International Relations at the University of Nanjing.

“The conversations also identified the necessary framework for continuing dialogue and negotiations in the future.”

This “win” is only in 90 days. Tariffs are only temporarily paused to allow negotiations.

This will allow some trade to run and calm the worried markets.

But the root of the problem still exists. China still sells much more to the United States than it buy. And there are other, distant differences in Thornier to give up, from the subsidies of the Chinese government, to key industries, to geopolitical tension in the Taiwanese Strait and outside.

The fight for more balanced trade relations is far from over – it has just moved.

The front line has shifted from the factory floors of China and the US supermarkets to negotiate tables in both Beijing and Washington.