China yesterday hailed a cooling of trade tensions with the United States, as state media trumpeted what it saw as Beijing's refusal to surrender to economic threats.

But US business leaders had mixed reactions, with some fearing China will have an edge over President Donald Trump.

Analysts in Asia and America feel it will be hard to narrow significantly the trade gap between the world's two largest economies, which stood at a record US$375 billion (S$504 billion) last year, if the US continues to impose a ban on high-tech exports to China.

It also remains to be seen if China can take enough measures to bring down its trade surplus with the US substantially. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross will travel to China next week to help finalise a trade agreement.

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