CHINA/ECONOMY/TRADE DEALS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “It’s been only two days since President Trump and President Xi Jinping of China announced a truce in the trade war, but exactly what promises were made remains far from clear — and the calm may not last long. The U.S. and China got what they wanted. Briefly. News of the pact helped China’s struggling renminbi climb to a two-month high. In the U.S., stocks rose, with the S&P 500 index up 1.1 percent. But Asian shares slid overnight, and futures tracking U.S. stocks suggest markets will be down when they open today, hinting that the restorative effects of the reconciliation may be short-lived. Confusion appears to reign. Mr. Trump’s top advisers struggled to explain what the deal between the two leaders delivers, particularly with respect to plans for reduced tariffs on U.S. cars shipped to China. Larry Kudlow, Mr. Trump’s chief economic adviser, dialed down expectations, saying ‘I’ll call them ‘commitments’ at this point.’”
–NYT Staff, “DealBook Briefing: Trump’s Trade Truce Is Mired in Confusion,” The New York Times online, December 4, 2018