WASHINGTON - The United States and China's arrival at a "phase one" trade deal may spell welcome relief for many from an impending tariff hike, and delivers some certainty for businesses, but it does not reverse the bruising effects of a trade war that has left both countries worse for the wear, said analysts.

While analysts credited US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping with pulling back the world's two biggest economies back from the brink, several pointed out the escalation had been of their own making to begin with.