China attacks US-UK tariff deal: 'They're cutting us off'

The truce on tariffs agreed by the US and China has officially begun. The agreement, negotiated in Geneva, Switzerland after months of bitter trade confrontation, provides for a 90-day pause during which the US will cut tariffs on imported goods from China from 145% to 30%. While Beijing agreed to reduce customs duties on imported US goods from 125% to 10%.

It's back to business as usual, or almost, after the trade war crashed stock markets around the world and fuelled uncertainty about the US economy as well. Donald Trump rejoiced at what he called 'a victory', the Chinese authorities were much more cautious. For the US, negotiations with Europe remain open and bilateral talks with several countries, first and foremost India and Japan, to reduce barriers to trade continue.

Trump's first bilateral trade agreement, the one reached with the United Kingdom last week, has however been criticised by China itself: according to the Chinese authorities, the pacts defined between Washington and London could be used to exclude Chinese products from British supply chains, in fact they impose 'strict requirements for American national security', especially for the steel and pharmaceutical industries, which seem designed to cut off Chinese production. "Cooperation between states should not be conducted against or to the detriment of third-party interests," the Chinese foreign ministry told the Financial Times.

This new clash puts the UK in a difficult position between the two economic superpowers and complicates London's attempts to revive relations with China.

Beijing has warned other countries against signing trade agreements with the US that threaten Chinese interests, fearing that President Trump will use bilateral negotiations with trading partners to pressure them to exclude China from supply networks.