US China Tariffs: European markets steady despite tensions

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Europe

U.S. President Donald Trump responded positively to China's plan to further open up its markets. That's brought some relief to Europe also. Guy Henderson tell us more from Frankfurt.

After months of trade war fears - German stocks are now holding firm. The big players in this trading nation would be hit harder than most if things turned sour.

The rhetoric had been ratcheted up in the last few weeks. With the U.S. threatening punitive tariffs on Chinese exports - only for China to respond in kind. But then President Xi Jinping announced a four-point plan to hasten China's economic opening-up in a speech on Tuesday. U.S. President Donald Trump has welcomed that. And investors see more time for both leaders to step further back from the brink.

DAVID KOHL ANALYST, JULIUS BAER "We are still 2-3 months away from the threat of tariffs actually being implemented. We are still in this dispute level where everybody tries to increase his chances to get a good deal."

That's brought some relief to those who'd be caught in the crossfire.

GUY HENDERSON FRANKFURT "The global reach of Germany's biggest companies has long been seen as one of its economy's great strengths. In a trade war, analysts believe it could become somewhat of a ground zero. There is little sense of panic in the Eurozone's financial capital though. The sense here is: we're not quite there yet. GH, CGTN, Frankfurt."