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


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. Previous reports suggested Chinese Vice Premier Liu He, China's top trade negotiator, would visit Washington to sign the deal.
Under the phase one deal, the U.S. agreed to call off new tariffs that were scheduled to go into effect on Dec. 15 and reduce others, while China agreed to buy more agricultural goods, CNBC reports. It was officially announced on Dec. 13.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

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.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Trump also said Tuesday that at a "later date," he'll be headed to Beijing for negotiations of phase two of the deal.
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."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
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.
-
Flying into danger
Feature America's air traffic control system is in crisis. Can it be fixed?
-
Pocket change: The demise of the penny
Feature The penny is being phased out as the Treasury plans to halt production by 2026
-
Time's up: The Democratic gerontocracy
Feature The Democratic party is losing key seats as they refuse to retire aging leaders
-
White House tackles fake citations in MAHA report
speed read A federal government public health report spearheaded by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was rife with false citations
-
Judge blocks push to bar Harvard foreign students
speed read Judge Allison Burroughs sided with Harvard against the Trump administration's attempt to block the admittance of international students
-
Trump's trade war whipsawed by court rulings
Speed Read A series of court rulings over Trump's tariffs renders the future of US trade policy uncertain
-
Elon Musk departs Trump administration
speed read The former DOGE head says he is ending his government work to spend more time on his companies
-
Trump taps ex-personal lawyer for appeals court
speed read The president has nominated Emil Bove, his former criminal defense lawyer, to be a federal judge
-
US trade court nullifies Trump's biggest tariffs
speed read The US Court of International Trade says Trump exceeded his authority in imposing global tariffs
-
Trump pauses all new foreign student visas
speed read The State Department has stopped scheduling interviews with those seeking student visas in preparation for scrutiny of applicants' social media
-
Trump pardons Virginia sheriff convicted of bribery
speed read Former sheriff Scott Jenkins was sentenced to 10 years in prison on federal bribery and fraud charges