After US President Donald Trump declared trade talks with Beijing were “right back on track” China has some cause for optimism – but the outcome is far from a win, according to analysts. During talks on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit in the Japanese city of Osaka on Saturday, Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed to a trade truce and to restart negotiations. Washington will not impose new tariffs on US$300 billion of Chinese goods. It will allow US firms to resume sales to Chinese telecoms giant Huawei Technologies. Trump also said he wanted more Chinese students to go to the US. And in return, China agreed only to buy an unspecified amount of US goods to reduce the trade deficit. Other demands previously made by Washington – including for Beijing to reduce industrial subsidies and for a mechanism to monitor progress on its promises – were not mentioned in statements on the talks. Afterwards, when asked whether the agreement was lopsided in China’s favour, Trump said only that companies were “very upset” about not being able to sell to Huawei, and it involved a “tremendous amount of products”. In Beijing, the response to the talks has been cautious – state media and diplomatic observers say an escalation in the trade war has been avoided but they are not claiming it as a victory. A commentary in Taoran Notes, a social media account affiliated with official newspaper Economic Daily , said the outcome had met expectations and paved the way for more talks, but noted there were a lot of complications. “Some people are worried about whether there will be more flip-flopping in the future negotiations,” the commentary said. “Considering what has happened over the past year, that’s a real possibility.” It added that Beijing and Washington still had many differences and major confrontations were still possible. Ivanka Trump, Jared Kushner take a seat at G20 table Momentum had been building earlier for the two sides to reach a trade deal, but talks broke down in May, when Trump said Beijing had backtracked on some of its promises, and Washington raised tariffs on Chinese imports. Pang Zhongying, an international relations expert with Ocean University of China, said it was too early to say whether Beijing was the winner in the latest agreement, as it was not clear whether it had made concessions such as amending legislation to improve the business environment for US firms. “The outcome is that these talks have helped to ease rising tension between China and the United States, but it would be going too far to say China had gained a lot,” he said. “We can’t be overly optimistic.” Pang said the decision not to impose new tariffs and to lift the ban on supplies to Huawei was mainly a case of the US adjusting its strategy in the face of a backlash from European and Asian nations. At home, tough action against China could help Trump as he seeks support for his election campaign, though he also risks losing votes if tariffs affect American companies. Christopher McNally, a political economy professor at Chaminade University in Hawaii, also said the talks outcome was positive for China, though “we cannot say China is winning”. “But it is very difficult to judge at this stage, because there are differences in the US administration concerning how to handle China,” he said. “[Trump] goes into meetings and comes out with a positive tone … and then when it comes to reality things get complicated.” Wang Yiwei, a professor in international relations at Renmin University of China, said that with trade talks resuming, Beijing would have more flexibility in pushing forward market reform. “At this stage, China can claim victory,” Wang said. “At least China has the strength to withstand US pressure and will not bow down to make concessions in the face of US threats.” Trudeau raises Kovrig, Spavor cases with Xi But Chen Fengying, former head of the World Economy Institute at the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations, said both sides had been balancing their own interests. “There isn’t any victory in this negotiation,” she said. “It is just the start of a new stage, and both nations know what the other one wants from the previous rounds of talks.” Hwang Jae-ho, director of the Global Security Cooperation Centre at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies in Seoul, said the agreement would not resolve the conflict, but it was a temporary halt. “China has definitely not won, but it hasn’t lost either. The trade war will come back whenever Washington wants to wage it again,” Hwang said. “Now in Sino-US relations, differences and competition weigh far more heavily than common ground,” he said, adding that the two countries would never find common ground on some geostrategic conflicts. Additional reporting by Jane Cai, Kinling Lo and Kristin Huang