China’s vice premier is expected to travel to Washington this weekend to sign the first phase of a trade deal with the United States, according to the South China Morning Post.
Neither side has released the text of the agreement or confirmed details of the trip, but officials say it will de-escalate tensions between the two countries, which have slapped billions of dollars of tariffs on each other’s exports.
“Washington has sent an invitation and Beijing has accepted it,” a source told the outlet, which reported that the delegation was expected to stay in the U.S. until the middle of next week.
U.S. trade representative Robert Lighthizer said earlier this month that an agreement would be signed during the first week of January.
“There are still a lot of outstanding issues that you’re all aware of between the United States and China which are very serious issues,” he said at the time. “Our sense is we’re better off doing this in phases than to sit and make no progress at all.”
The tit for tat trade war has dragged on between the two nations for almost two years.
Both sides need a speedy resolution. A new Federal Reserve study revealed the trade war’s negative effects on the U.S. economy — undermining jobs growth and raising production costs. Meanwhile, rising grocery prices in China have increased pressure on Xi Jinping to find a way out.
The phase one deal is reported to increase Chinese purchases of U.S. farm and energy products, protect American companies doing business in China, and limit Beijing’s ability to weaken its currency — all major demands of the Trump administration, which has promised to do more to help American farmers in particular. Trump called it a “phenomenal deal” when it was announced on Dec. 13.
Hopes of a speedy resolution kept world stock markets in positive territory Monday.
