Chinese President Xi Jinping shakes hands with President Donald Trump before a bilateral meeting during the G20 Summit on June 29, 2019 in Osaka, Japan.
China News Service | Getty Images
Chinese Vice Premier Liu He, the nation’s top trade negotiator, will visit Washington this week to sign the “phase one” trade deal with the U.S., the South China Morning Post reported Monday.
The newspaper, citing a source briefed on the matter, said Beijing has accepted the U.S. invitation for a deal-signing in Washington, and the Chinese delegation will stay in the U.S. for a few days until the middle of next week. The South China Morning Post is run by Alibaba but often criticized for being biased in favor of the state.
The two countries have been working on translating and formalizing the partial agreement since earlier this month. The “phase one” trade deal includes some tariffs rollback and increased agricultural purchases from China.
President Donald Trump said last week the deal is “getting done,” adding there will “ultimately” be a signing ceremony with Chinese leader Xi Jinping and a quicker signing will happen soon.
U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer previously said the two countries were aiming to ink the deal in the first week of January in Washington at the ministerial level and would not involve Trump and Xi.
