U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday welcomed China's decision to exempt some U.S. anti-cancer drugs and other goods from its tariffs and announced a short delay to scheduled tariff hikes on billions worth of Chinese goods.
Stock markets in Asia rose on the news on Thursday, with the Nikkei stock average ending at a four-month high as the concessions came days ahead of a planned meeting aimed at defusing the escalating trade war between the world's two largest economies.
China's decision to exempt some U.S. goods was a "big move" by Beijing and a positive gesture before trade negotiators from both countries meet in Washington, Trump told reporters at the White House.