After months of negotiations, the US and China have  finally unveiled their “phase one” trade agreement, revealing it to be more limited in scope than the comprehensive deal that both sides had been seeking. 

Some of the commitments contained in the 86-page document, which has eight chapters and a preamble, echo previous pledges made by China at the WTO or in G20 summits, and repackage steps Beijing had already been taking towards more open markets. Cybertheft by China as well as its use of industrial subsidies and its barriers against some US technology investments are not addressed. 

To critics, the scale of China’s concessions has not been worth the pain and disruption wrought by the trade war. Many observers were cautious about the outcome.