Trump to jet to Beijing for 'phase two' trade deal negotiations

President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping

(Image credit: FRED DUFOUR/AFP via Getty Images)

published 31 December 2019

President Trump has locked in a date for the signing of the phase one trade deal with China, and he's got his eye on phase two.

In a tweet Tuesday morning, Trump said the "very large and comprehensive" phase one trade deal with China will be signed on Jan. 15, with "high level representatives of China" set to attend. P revious reports suggested Chinese Vice Premier Liu He, China's top trade negotiator, would visit Washington to sign the deal.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Earlier this month, Trump said that "I like the idea of waiting until after the [2020 presidential] election for the China deal," but he added that "they want to make a deal now." It's unclear when Trump's visit to Beijing might take place, but Axios' Dan Primack observes that there's much left to accomplish in phase two seeing as phase one "is Trump trying to save face — as it seems to basically be an agriculture purchase agreement that does little to address the core issues that the president supposedly cares about."

Explore More

Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.

Subscribe to The Week

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox