China exempts some U.S. goods from tariffs

In what might be an effort to de-escalate a bruising trade war, China on Wednesday announced it would exempt 16 types of U.S. products from additional tariffs.

This includes anti-cancer drugs, lubricants and animal feed ingredients.

But the exempted list pales in comparison to over 5,000 products already subject to a 25% tariff China put in place last year.

And notably not on the list, big-ticket agricultural products like U.S. soybeans.

The move comes as top Chinese negotiators prepare to travel to Washington in the coming weeks for another round of highly-anticipated trade talks.

China has imposed retaliatory tariffs on American products starting last year with a 25% levy on about $50 billion of U.S. imports.

In all, the world's two largest economies have slapped tit-for-tat tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars-worth of goods in a bitter trade war that has raised the specter of a global recession.

The exemption will take effect on Sept. 17 and be valid for a year.