Putting pen to paper on partial deal would be confidence booster

The 15-month trade frictions the United States instigated with China have been an appreciable drag on global economic and trade growth, and are a significant source of risk for the global economy, with "real spillover effects" for emerging markets.

These warning words from Tobias Adrian, director of the monetary and capital markets department of the International Monetary Fund, on Wednesday are right on the money, as the global economy and world trade are growing at 3 percent and 1.1 percent respectively, their slowest rates since the 2008 financial crisis.

Which is why the possibility of Washington and Beijing striking a deal, at least on some issues, has been met with huge sighs of relief around the world.