US-China trade deal “looks more like a truce”

US President Donald Trump announced on Friday that the US and China have reached a partial deal whereby the latter will purchase between US$40 billion and US$50 billion worth of US agricultural products while the US agreed to suspend a tariff increase on at least US$250 billion in Chinese goods to 30 percent from 25 percent which would have taken place on Tuesday.

The announcement helped push stocks up on Friday but analysts say the deal appears to be more of a “temporary truce”.

“We think the ‘substantial’ first-stage trade deal made by Trump with China looks more like a truce than a genuine deal,” said Christiaan Tuntono, senior economist for Asia Pacific at Allianz Global Investors.

“In terms of the real thorny issues, none of that is thrashed out,” said Mizuho Bank’s Head of Economics and Strategy Vishnu Varathan.