The planned trade agreement between the US and China is to be signed in the United States, according to US President Donald Trump. That’s also okay with China’s President Xi Jinping, Trump said yesterday evening (local time) in the White House garden.
For the event, various locations are currently under review, including the US state of Iowa, Trump said. According to Trump, the rural state in the Midwest would offer itself because the agreement also involved the purchase of agricultural products by China.
„Practically finished“
A few hours earlier, government officials from both sides had stated that they were close to finalizing the partial agreement. Trump said, „We are making a lot of progress.“ China definitely wants to make a deal, he said.
Trump’s economic adviser Larry Kudlow had previously stated that several chapters – those on agricultural products, financial services and monetary issues – were „practically finished“. Elsewhere, there is great progress. The Chinese Ministry of Commerce said the two sides had had constructive talks and reached an „agreement on principles“.
Chile canceled APEC summit
The agreement was originally to be signed in the margins of the Asia-Pacific Economic Community (APEC) Summit in Santiago de Chile in mid-November. However, due to severe protests in Chile, the government surprisingly rejected the APEC summit.
The US and China have been engaged in a trade war for more than a year, slowing economic growth in both countries and impacting the global economy. Both sides have gradually overdrawn each other with ever new punitive tariffs, while talks are ongoing on a trade agreement.
