INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
economic shock caused by the coronavirus outbreak.Asian stock markets surged higher on the announcement, which follows a similar reduction
by the Trump administration last month.Markets in Europe also enjoyed a positive day with the FTSE 100 gaining 0.3% while, in New York, the
Dow Jones Industrial Average and S-P 500 hit record highs.Image:Donald Trump and Chinese Vice Premier Liu He signed a 'phase one' US-China
trade deal in JanuaryThe tariffs - targeting American goods such as car parts - were imposed last September as part of the dispute between
the world's two biggest economies.The tit-for-tat measures came after the two sides fell out over China's trade surplus, and allegations
that it was stealing technology from foreign companies.After a year and a half of wrangling, the two sides signed a "phase one" trade deal
last month, with Washington cancelling planned additional tariff hikes and Beijing committing to buy more US farm exports.Most of the tariff
hikes imposed by both sides during the dispute, affecting billions of dollars of goods, remain in place.Now, China is coming under
additional pressure from the coronavirus outbreak that has closed factories, stores and other businesses.It has already sought to calm
boost confidence.The announcement will see two sets of tariffs cut by half, from 15% to 7.5%, and from 10% to 5%.A statement from China's
Ministry of Finance said: "The next steps depend on the development of the Chinese-US economic and trade situation."We hope to work with the
United States towards the elimination of all tariff increases."The tariff move added to hopes that the global economy may be able to avoid a
major shock from China's rapidly spreading coronavirus, which has battered financial markets in recent weeks.Hong Kong's Hang Seng index
and Japan's Nikkei climbed more than 2%, while China's Shanghai composite added 1.7%.
