BEIJING – China will suspend retaliatory tariffs on US imports, including duties on farm goods, Beijing confirmed on Nov 5, but imports of US soya beans still face a 13 per cent tariff.

The tariff commission of the State Council, or Cabinet, will scrap duties of up to 15 per cent imposed on some US agricultural goods from Nov 10, while keeping levies of 10 per cent introduced in response to

President Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” duties

Investors on both sides of the Pacific were relieved when

Mr Trump met Chinese leader Xi Jinping

Mr Trump and the White House were quick to issue their take on the meeting, but the Chinese side did not immediately give a detailed summary of what it agreed to.

“Broadly, it’s a great sign that the two sides are making rapid progress in putting the deal into effect,” said Ms Even Rogers Pay, a director at Beijing-based Trivium China. “It shows they’re aligned and that the agreement is likely to hold up.”

The tariff cut nonetheless leaves Chinese buyers of US soya beans facing tariffs of 13 per cent, a cost traders said makes US shipments still too expensive for commercial buyers, compared to Brazilian alternatives.

“We don’t expect any demand from China to return to the US market with this change,” said one trader at an international trading company. “Brazil is cheaper than the United States and even non-Chinese buy...