China’s Vice Premier to sign ‘phase one’ of trade deal in Washington next week

China’s Vice Premier Liu He will travel to Washington next week to sign the much-awaited ‘phase one’ of trade deal which opens the door for further negotiations. The Commerce Ministry spokesperson said that Liu will be on the visit from January 13-15 to officially seal the deal after months of the trade war. 

The confirmation comes after US President Donald Trump announced that he will be signing a “comprehensive” trade deal, at the White House, in the presence of high-level representatives from China. Trump had also declared that he will embark on a visit to Beijing to begin the talks for ‘phase two’ after signing the phase one deal.

Read: EC Chief Says UK Needs To Compromise In Trade Deal With European Union

‘Historic and enforceable agreement’

Earlier, Trump had claimed that China, during the ‘phase one’ deal, agreed to many “structural changes” and “massive purchases” of agricultural product, energy, and manufactured goods, among others. The US trade representatives had also confirmed the ‘historic and enforceable agreement’ with China on Phase One trade deal. It said that the US will be maintaining 25 per cent tariffs on approximately $250 billion of Chinese imports, along with 7.5 per cent tariffs on approximately $120 billion of Chinese imports.

“President Trump has focused on concluding a Phase One agreement that achieves meaningful, fully-enforceable structural changes and begins rebalancing the U.S.-China trade relationship.  This unprecedented agreement accomplishes those very significant goals and would not have been possible without the President’s strong leadership,” said United States Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer.

Read: Donald Trump To Travel To China In January After Signing 'phase One' Trade Deal

After the deal was finalised, Trump scrapped the penalty tariffs and China reciprocated to it by suspending additional tariffs on some US goods that were set to be implemented from December 15. China’s State Council Customs Tariff Commission, in a statement, said that the decision was taken in order to implement the results of the recent consultations between China and the United States on economic and trade issues.

Read: Trump Says He’ll Sign First-step China Trade Deal On Jan. 15

Read: China Breaks Silence On Mega Iran-US Escalation With A Message For All Concerned Parties

(With inputs from agencies)