China offers muted response to US trade deal

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Is it the “biggest deal anybody has ever seen”or is it “progress … on the right track”? That depends if you are asking Donald Trump or Xi Jinping about the China-US trade deal. It includes a pledge by Beijing to increase purchases of US products and services by $200bn over the next two years. However, Chinese purchases of $40bn-worth of US farm goods a year over the next two years would be “based on market conditions”.

While there will be no new tariffs, the bulk of those on $360bn worth of Chinese products will remain, as will Chinese tariffs on over $100bn of US goods.

The second phase of talks has now begun.