US President Donald Trump said he will sign the first phase of a trade deal with China on 15 January, sealing an agreement that sees the Asian nation raising purchases of American farm goods in exchange for lower tariffs on some of its products. The date has yet to be confirmed by the Chinese side.<\/p>\n
“The ceremony will take place at the White House,” Trump said on his Twitter account Tuesday, adding he will be going to Beijing, where talks will begin on the second phase of the deal.<\/p>\n
Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Geng Shuang said Thursday he has no new information on the trade deal and didn\u2019t comment on the signing. He repeated that he hoped the US will do more to build mutual trust.<\/p>\n
Despite the lack of clarity on the signing date, Beijing is still indicating it also wants the deal. A commentary on the front page of People\u2019s Daily on Tuesday said, \u201cit is everyone\u2019s wish that China and the U.S. will sign the phase one agreement.\u201d<\/p>\n
The deal, announced 13 December, sees the US suspending plans for new tariffs on $160 billion of Chinese imports including smart-phones and toys and reducing some existing levies.<\/p>\n
China agreed to increase its purchases of American agricultural products and has made new commitments on intellectual property protections, forced technology transfers by US companies and currency practices.<\/p>\n
The move at least temporarily calms fears of an escalating trade war between the world\u2019s two largest economies.<\/p>\n
The precise terms of the 86-page agreement have not been revealed. US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said 13 December he expected to sign the accord together with his Chinese counterpart, Vice Premier Liu He, in early January in Washington, and that it would be released publicly then.<\/p>\n