Many people in China cheered the meeting Thursday between President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump, after months of escalating bilateral tensions.
Every time the two leaders meet, it helps ease tensions and creates a “positive atmosphere,” Alex Hongcai Xu, chair of Beijing Honglve Consulting, said in Mandarin, translated by CNBC. “This atmosphere is beneficial for negotiations.”
“Each side lowering tariffs to below 10% would benefit capital flows and cooperation,” Xu said. He noted that China can likely buy more U.S. soybeans and U.S.-made Boeing
airplanes.
Trump said Thursday after the meeting that the U.S. would halve a 20% fentanyl-related tariff on China, bringing the total duty on Chinese goods to 47%. That marked a sharp reversal from his earlier threat to impose an additional 100% tariffs on China starting Saturday.
