Chinese banks extended 280 billion yuan ($38.87 billion) in new yuan loans in April, below analysts' forecasts and plummeting from March's 3.64 trillion yuan, according to Reuters calculations based on data released by the People's Bank of China.

Grocers’ sales are more reliant on domestically grown food. Supermarket operator Kroger, which previously disclosed “small single-digit exposure” to inventory from China, was down 4.7 per cent in early trading. Walmart, where the bulk of US sales come from groceries, was off by 0.8 per cent.

As part of the US China trade agreement, the United States has reduced tariffs on Chinese imports to 30%, while China has brought down its tariffs on American goods to 10%, a massive reduction of over 100 percentage points in some cases.

Brazil signed protocols with China on Tuesday to allow exports of an ethanol by-product used in animal feed, challenging U.S. dominance in the market amid the ongoing China-U.S. trade standoff.

The White House backed off from the steepest levies, as the costs of an all-out trade war with China threatened global economic growth.

As the U.S. and China negotiate a trade deal, Trump has lowered a levy on “de minimis” low-value packages, such as online shopping from Shein or Temu.

The result has been a raft of trade wars between Washington and other governments, Beijing foremost among them. Trump’s disruptions to the global economy are serious, and they may feel novel. But today’s situation is hardly without precedent.

Wall Street was on track to open with losses as the initial euphoria over the 90-day truce in the U.S.-China trade war faded.