China and the United States are “moving closer to agreeing” on a “phase one” trade deal, said the state-run Global Times on Sunday, reported Reuters.
But the report noted that Washington and Beijing had not agreed on specifics or size of rollbacks of tariffs on Chinese goods. Beijing’s insistence that Washington roll back the Trump administration’s tariffs has been a major sticking point.
Beijing and Washington are “very close” to a phase one deal, the Global Times said on its Twitter feed, citing experts close to the Chinese government. Beijing “remains committed to continuing talks for a phase two and even a phase three deal” the Tweet said.
“The two sides have basically reached broad consensus for the phase one agreement,” Gao Lingyun, an expert at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing who is close to the trade talks, told the Global Times.