Chinese Vice Premier Liu He will be leading the official signing of the China-US phase one deal this week, in a fresh sign that tensions between the world's two largest economies are ebbing.
The United States had reportedly sent an invitation for the vice-premier to come to Washington, according to sources who spoke with South China Morning Post under the condition of anonymity. China had willingly accepted the invitation, the source said.
The vice-premier will be flying with a delegation of trade negotiators. The team is expected to stay in Washington for a few days, probably until the middle of the second week of January, the sources said.
The sources would like to maintain anonymity because official announcements should be coming from Chinese officials. At the same time, officials for the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative did not respond for comment as of press time.
White House assistant for trade and manufacturing policy Peter Navarro, however, said that the phase one deal could indeed be signed within the week. As for the report that the Chinese delegation is coming and staying in Washington, he said that confirmation should be coming from the office oo U.S. President Donald Trump.
Nevertheless, Navarro assured that details of the phase one deal, once signed, will immediately be made public. He said officials are looking forward to informing companies and global markets immediately, hence, everyone is aiming for a speedy process. The only challenge he is seeing is that the contract needs to be translated into Chinese so both parties could double-check in the fastest time possible.
He added that the China-US phase one contract is 86 pages long. Inclusions are agreement on intellectual property, technology transfers, and currency.
Elsewhere, global markest await the development, most especially that China and the US both hold significant places in world trade.
Indeed, the two nations, together with Germany, have benefited the most from their membership in the World Trade Organization. This according to a new WTO report released in time for its 25th anniversary. The US earned $87 billion in 2016 while China earned $86 billion in 2016. The financial rewards suggest that the two countries hold significant shares in the overall global trade market.
The WTO report assessed the wealth effects of WTO membership on its 164 members and 180 more countries engaged in trade with the organization. The amount that China and the US earned could suggest that they are focal points of trade anywhere else in the world.
