US to defer further import duties on Chinese goods
President Donald Trump has announced that the US will delay imposing further trade tariffs on Chinese goods.
The rise in import duties on Chinese goods from 10% to 25% was meant to come into effect on 1 March.
Mr Trump told reporters that the US and China had made “substantial progress” in trade talks over the weekend.
He added that he was planning a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Florida to cement the trade deal if more progress was made.
A report from China’s official news agency Xinhua also noted “substantial progress” on specific issues such as technology transfer, intellectual property protection and agriculture.
Mr Trump’s decision to delay tariff hikes on $200bn (£153bn) worth of Chinese goods was seen as a sign that the two sides are making progress on settling their damaging trade war.
Stock markets in Asia, which have been sensitive to the dispute, rose on Monday.
Last week, Mr Trump noted progress in the latest round of negotiations in Washington, including an agreement on currency manipulation, though no details were disclosed.
Sources told CNBC on Friday that China had committed to buying up to $1.2tn in US goods, but there had been no progress on the intellectual property issues.
The US accuses China of stealing intellectual property from American firms, forcing them to transfer technology to China.
The trade war between the two countries has disrupted businesses and stoked fears about the impact on the global economy.
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