The United States and China slashed sweeping tariffs on each others' goods for 90 days on Wednesday, marking a temporary de-escalation in a brutal trade war that roiled global markets and international supply chains.

The May 12 announcement is best viewed as a truce that does not shift the underlying structural reality: the U.S. and China are locked into a long-term cycle of escalating strategic competition.

The White House backed off from the steepest levies, as the costs of an all-out trade war with China threatened global economic growth.