Chinese Vice Premier and lead trade negotiator Liu He, right, reaches to shake hands with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer before the opening session of trade negotiations at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, Thursday, Feb. 14, 2019.
Mark Schiefelbein | Pool | Reuters
China and the U.S. have reached an agreement on text of a phase one trade deal and will now move toward signing a deal as quickly as possible, Chinese officials said Friday.
Under the accord, the U.S. will scrap tariffs on Chinese goods in phases, Vice Commerce Minister Wang Shouwen said. The developing deal involves intellectual property, technology transfers, agricultural goods, financial services and expansion of trade.
The world’s two largest economies have scrambled to patch up a partial trade deal announced in October, which President Donald Trump said would involve more Chinese purchases of agricultural goods.
The president has used tariffs to pressure Beijing as he pushes for a broader agreement to address what he calls abuses including intellectual property theft, forced technology transfers and a massive trade deficit.
— CNBC’s Evelyn Cheng contributed to this report
This story is developing. Please check back for updates.
