A new executive order signed by President Trump on Monday extended the deadline for a massive hike in tariffs on goods imported from China by 90 days. The pause will allow for more time for the two countries to hammer out a trade deal, which the White House has been seeking for months.

The world’s two largest economies have held a series of trade talks since the Trump administration first announced increased tariffs in February, including three formal rounds. Before Monday’s EO, U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports were set to reach 145%, with the communist regime setting 125% duties on U.S. imports as well as reducing rare earth mineral and magnet exports that are critical for electric vehicle, jet engine, and military equipment manufacturing.

As noted by The New York Times, the 90-day pause “sets the stage for a potential summit between Mr. Trump and Xi Jinping, China’s leader, later this year.” Trump has expressed optimism about the outlook for a deal, remarking Monday that progress has been made. “They’ve been dealing quite nicely — the relationship is very good with President Xi and myself.”

The president has made clear that one of his goals in negotiating a favorable trade deal is to reduce the U.S.’s trade deficit with Xi’s regime. He called for China to quadruple their purchases of U.S. soybeans. “China is worried about its shortage of soybeans,” Trump posted in a Truth Social message Xi. “Our great farmers produce the most robust soybeans.” In response to Monday’s EO, China announced it would pause restrictions on certain exports to the U.S.

Observers say that the tariff pause may also have been timed to stave off price hikes ahead of the time period when U.S. retailers stock up on Chinese-made goods ahead of the Christmas season.

“Call it the Christmas Truce,” author Gordon Chang, who serves as a distinguished senior fellow at the Gatestone Institute, told The Washington Stand. “The additional 90-day pause allows Chinese factories to fill American homes with more crap for the holidays. If we’re going to buy additional junk from abroad, at least we should get it from countries that do not consider us their mortal enemies.”

Meanwhile, signs also emerged Monday that the U.S. may be easing its restrictions on China’s ability to purchase American-made computer chips, which have been restricted due to national security concerns. The Trump administration will now allow the communist regime to purchase Nvidia’s H20 artificial-intelligence chip, which the company insisted “will not enhance anyone’s military capabilities but will help America win the support of developers worldwide.”

As reported by The Wall Street Journal, “Trump said he was comfortable allowing H20 exports because the U.S. has much better chips. The most powerful Nvidia products wouldn’t be approved for export unless they were modified for lower performance, he said.”