US President Donald Trump has stated on Twitter that Washington and Beijing’s phase one trade deal will be signed at the White House on 15 January.
Prior to this, Trump stated that he and Chinese President Xi Jinping would soon hold a signing ceremony for phase one of the bilateral trade agreement.
I will be signing our very large and comprehensive Phase One Trade Deal with China on January 15. The ceremony will take place at the White House. High level representatives of China will be present. At a later date I will be going to Beijing where talks will begin on Phase Two!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 31, 2019
Earlier in December, the United States and China announced that they had worked out the phase one trade deal as part of a larger bilateral trade agreement that would help resolve the long-lasting trade war between the two countries. As part of the accord, the sides agreed to not introduce new duties that were planned to go into effect on 15 December.
For more than a year, the United States and China, the world’s two leading economies, have been engaged in a trade war over what Trump has deemed unfair economic conditions and alleged anti-competitive behaviour by China – a charge that Beijing denies.