China tariffs Trump will claim victory- but this was a capitulation

Donald Trump will inevitably claim Monday's temporary truce in the US-China trade war as a victory, but financial markets seemed to have read it for what it is - a capitulation.

- Heather Stewart

Stocks were up and bond yields were higher after US treasury secretary Scott Bessent's press conference in Geneva, where he has been holding talks with China.

As with the UK "trade deal" last week, the US is not reverting to the status quo before Trump arrived in the White House. Instead, tariffs on Chinese goods will be cut from 145% to 30% - initially for a 90-day period. In return, China has cut its own tariffs on US imports to 10%, from the 125% it had imposed in retaliation against the White House. That still marks a big shift in the terms of trade between the two countries, but falls far short of what was in effect a trade embargo.

Speaking in Geneva, Bessent said both sides had shown "great respect" in the negotiations. "The consensus from both delegations this weekend was neither side wants a decoupling," he said.