The thawing of relations between The USA and China have been welcomed by global maritime leaders but businesses have been warned that it needs to be viewed as a pause rather than a permanent solution to the threatened trade war.

The  long-anticipated meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Busan, South Korea, had sparked cautious optimism across global markets. Both leaders described the encounter as “constructive” and “historic,” though much of the market reaction points to a tactical pause rather than a structural reset in the world’s most powerful economic relationship.

Trump called the meeting a “12 out of 10,” while markets shared a brief wave of enthusiasm, Chinese equities rose on Friday morning, and the yuan strengthened slightly. Yet the Busan summit stopped short of resolving deeper geopolitical rifts around technology, tariffs, and security, leaving investors with more questions than answers.

“Markets always respond well to a handshake, even when concrete outcomes are still pending,” said David Barrett, CEO of EBC Financial Group (UK) Ltd. “Sentiment is leading the way for now, but the underlying fundamentals remain unchanged — the US–China dynamic continues to shape the global narrative.”

The most tangible outcomes include a tariff reduction, a rare-earth reprieve, and renewed agricultural trade, but each move comes with caveats. The US agreed to cut its “fentanyl-linked” tariff on Chinese imports from 20% to 10%, trimming the overall US tariff burden on Chinese goods from about 57% to 47%. In return, Beijing pledged to suspend its new export restrictions on rare earth minerals for one year, providing temporary relief for manufacturers across the electric vehicle and semiconductor industries.

China also committed to resume large-scale purchases of US soybeans and farm goods, signalling a partial thaw in agricultural trade. However, the leaders avoided the most politically sensitive issues like Taiwan, AI chip export bans, and military tensions in the South China Sea, indicating the truce was designed to stabilise markets, not rewrite the rules.

“While it may not mark a full breakthrough, the meeting represents a meaningful pause in tensions,” said Barrett. “For traders, it provides a short-term sense of stability and an opportunity to reassess exposure to US–China–linked assets. Still, it’s too early to call this a long-term realignment.”

However the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) said the outcome and the suspension of the recently imposed Section 301 port fees was a significant positive.

“ICS welcomes the agreement that appears to have been made between President Trump of the United States and President Xi Jinping of China,” it said in a statement. “ICS has been involved in consultations with the United States Trade Representative (USTR) since the beginning of the Section 301 investigation, and the government of China, and we look forward to receiving confirmation on these reports and further details.

“The reports of the U.S.’ agreement to suspend the Section 301 port fees on China’s maritime, logistics and shipbuilding industries by one year, and the agreed reciprocal suspension of China’s countermeasures targeting US linked ships, is a welcome and positive development.”

It added: “ICS supports the ambition to increase U.S. shipbuilding capacity and to make the United States Shipbuilding industry strong, as additional commercial tonnage strengthens the global maritime sector’s efficiency and competitiveness. However, the port fees imposed by the USTR on 14 October 2025, and subsequently by China as countermeasures to U.S. linked ships, has already posed significant challenges and disruptions for the shipping industry and global trade.

“At ICS we strongly advocate for the need for shipping to be able to move trade freely and efficiently and remain committed to working collaboratively with all administrations and international partners to avoid any disruptions to the flow of global trade.”

EBC cautioned while the Xi–Trump meeting may have cooled tempers; it does little to reverse the trend toward economic fragmentation. Washington’s ongoing push for reshoring, Beijing’s industrial self-reliance strategy, and their mutual race for semiconductor supremacy all point toward a more divided global system.

It added EBC analysts believe emerging Asian markets such as Vietnam, Malaysia, and Indonesia could continue to benefit from strategic spillover as multinational firms expand their “China-plus-one” manufacturing strategies.

“Supply-chain diversification isn’t just a buzzword anymore, it’s a survival mechanism,” said Barrett. “And this truce doesn’t change that trajectory.”

He added the Busan outcome should be seen as a temporary reprieve rather than a turning point.

“Maintaining diversified currency exposure, cautious positioning in commodities, and close attention to US – China trade data will remain essential as policy volatility continues to shape global markets.”