Trump stated that China had 'made concessions', but he failed to explain what those concessions were. I believe it was Trump that made the concessions, not China. The stock market spiked briefly on the news on Friday, then it just sort of went flat-line for the rest of the day because of lack of detail about the partial trade deal. Trump had gotten a temporary promise from China to purchase some soybeans, that's the extent of the deal. A 'promise' from China. This promise stoked enthusiasm in farmers and steeled their faith in Trump.
China made a unreliable promise to put on hold the additional tariffs up to 25% that were to go into effect today. As it stands now, Washington announced that will not charge Beijing with any new tariffs that were to go into effect today and will slightly reduce existing ones. Who made out in that temporary deal, the U.S. or Beijing? China knows that if they hold out long enough, Trump will stop punching the U.S. in the face with his tariffs that he keeps backing down on.
If Trump wants to win in 2020, there's one thing he absolutely needs to accomplish, that's a solid trade deal with China, one that will relieve the distress and suffering of U.S. farmers. The average mid-size farms have been devastated by these tariffs but they have been subsidized with our tax dollars. This isn't going to work much longer because the lion's share of bailouts have been going to the big corporate farms. Trump desperately needs the farm vote.
China knows very well that all they have to do is hold out until the 2020 election. They understand that if they give Trump what he wants, he'll win reelection and these tariffs wars will continue into his second term. If they don't soften up and acquiesce to Trump, he has no chance of winning. The question is; does China want 4 more years of Trump who has hurt them with his tariffs, or would they rather wait until 2020? Even if Trump is not impeached in the Senate in January, China may be confident that he could possibly be impeached on new indictments any time between Dec. and Nov. 2020.