China faces tariffs from US President Donald Trump, which is the decisive image of this trade war.

It prompted Trump to wait for Chinese leaders to call viral memes.

"We won't back down," Beijing's foreign ministry has a message almost every day. As tariffs and Washington's rhetoric escalate, China has poached its feet.

Even as Chinese officials travel to Switzerland for talks, state-owned social media accounts published an animation of the U.S. Treasury Secretary pushing for an empty shopping cart.

People who initiated the negotiations in Geneva even had a conflicting version.

But after two days of "strong" conversation, things seem to have changed.

So, is this the main turning point for Washington and Beijing? The answer is yes.

"The consensus between the two delegations this weekend is not expected to be reached," U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said at a press conference in Geneva.

"And what happened to these very high tariffs...the equivalent of an embargo, both sides want it. We do want trade."

Economists acknowledge that the deal is better than expected.

"I think the tariffs will be cut to about 50%," Zhang, chief economist at Pinpoint Asset Management in Hong Kong, told Reuters news agency.

But in fact, the U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports will now drop to 30%, while China's tariffs on American goods will drop to 10%.

"Obviously, this is very positive news for both countries and economies in the global economy and gives investors a greater focus on the damage to global supply chains in the short term," he added.

Trump praised the progress on his Truth Social Site Sunday: "A lot of things are being discussed, very agreeable. The overall reset was done in a friendly but constructive way."

Beijing has also greatly reduced its tone, perhaps for good reason.

China can have an economic war with the United States to a certain extent. It is the main trading partner of more than 100 other countries.

But officials are increasingly concerned about the impact of tariffs on an economy already struggling with the property crisis, stubborn youth unemployment and low consumer confidence.

Factory output has slowed down, and some companies have reportedly had to lay off workers as production lines of goods encountered in the United States fell to a halt, causing trade to stagnate.

China's consumer price index fell 0.1% in April, the third month of consumer refunds, and businesses fell as prices lowered to compete for customers, data on Saturday showed.

The agreement reached with the United States is an important step to laying the foundation for bridge differences and deepening cooperation, the Ministry of Commerce of China said on Monday.

Beijing's such a positive statement seemed unimaginable a month ago.

As Beijing said, the two sides also agreed to conduct more negotiations or “economic and trade advisory mechanisms.”

But Trump may be overly optimistic about the characteristics of the “all reset” in the relationship, as the tail stings in Beijing’s statement.

The Ministry of Trade ended with reminding who was wrong.

"We hope the United States will continue to work with China and, based on half of this meeting, completely corrected the wrong practice of unilateral tariffs."

Chinese state media also warned Washington. Xinhua comments claim that China's "kindness and patience have their limits, and it will never be used for those who keep suppressing and extorting us, nor will they say their words to the next step."

Beijing’s leaders hope to portray the image of power as their own people and the international community. They would imagine that they hadn't launched an inch. The message from China is that it is responsible and rational and tries to avoid a global recession.

"This is a victory of conscience and reason," said Zhang Yun of the Nanjing University School of International Relations.

“The negotiations also establish the necessary framework for continuing dialogue and negotiation in the future.”

This kind of "victory" is only 90 days. Tariffs are only temporarily suspended for negotiations.

It will allow some trade flows and will soothe the worrying market.

But the root cause of the problem still exists. China's sales to the United States far exceed its purchases. There are other trickier differences, from Chinese government subsidies to key industries to geopolitical tensions in the Taiwan Strait and beyond.

The struggle for a more balanced trade relationship is far from over - it simply moved.

The frontline has transformed from factory floors in China and supermarkets in the United States to negotiating tables in Beijing and Washington.