The United States will cut the "de minimis" tariff for low-value items imported from China, a White House executive order said on Monday, further de-escalating a potentially damaging trade war between the world's two largest economies.

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

Stock markets rose sharply as the globe’s two major economic powers took a step back from a clash that has unsettled the global economy.