The newly announced Sino-U.S. framework lays out a 90-day tariff truce of sorts, slashing American tariffs on Chinese goods from 145% to about 30%, while cutting Beijing’s retaliatory duties from 125% to 10%.

The White House has said its agreements with the U.K. and China are starting points, but so far the Trump administration has given up more than it has gained.

Do not mistake the reversal of folly for the triumph of sanity, though. Trade policy between the world’s two largest economies is more restrictive and less predictable than it was before Mr Trump took office. A crash has been averted, but the world will keep paying for the president’s protectionism.