China is seeking to hold another round of talks with the US by the end of the month before President Xi Jinping decides to sign a recently reached "Phase One" agreement on trade, Bloomberg reported, citing anonymous sources. Beijing reportedly wants to use new talks to "hammer out the details" of the new agreement, before inking it.
Beijing could send Vice Premier Liu He to work out the final arrangements on the "Phase One" agreement and to negotiate with Trump on scrapping not only this week's tariff hike, which Washington promised not to implement, but also one scheduled for December. According to Bloomberg's sources, the finalised agreement could be signed by Donald Trump and Xi Jinping during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, which will be taking place on 16 and 17 November 2019.
CHINA HAS ALREADY BEGUN AGRICULTURAL PURCHASES FROM OUR GREAT PATRIOT FARMERS & RANCHERS!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 13, 2019
The report comes in light of President Donald Trump announcing that China has already started purchasing "large quantities" of US agricultural products even before signing the recently reached "Phase One" agreement. He noted that it was one of the preconditions for reaching this deal in the first place.
....I agreed not to increase Tariffs from 25% to 30% on October 15th. They will remain at 25%. The relationship with China is very good. We will finish out the large Phase One part of the deal, then head directly into Phase Two. The Phase One Deal can be finalized & signed soon!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 13, 2019
On October 11, Trump announced that the "Phase One" agreement with China had been reached, bragging it was the "greatest and biggest deal ever made" for US farmers, citing upcoming large purchases by China. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, in turn, noted that the agreement will address Washington's concerns related to foreign exchange rate issues. He, however, refused to elaborate on whether China's designation as currency manipulator would be rescinded.
The agreement, if it is successfully inked in coming months, will be the first major success in US-China trade talks in months. The two countries already came close to signing a trade deal in May that would have put an end to the trade war, initiated by the US in 2018, but its signing was foiled. Trump claimed that the deal never came to life due to Beijing trying to make last-minute amendments to it.