Negotiations will continue while lower tariff rates are in place for 90 days. But free trade belongs to a bygone era.

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.

Both sides are hailing the temporary reprieve, which will cut U.S. duties on Chinese goods to 30 percent, but analysts say underlying issues remain.