The Wall Street Journal reported that the United States and China will sign on Wednesday the first phase of the trade agreement between them that would ease the trade war between the two countries.

The newspaper noted that the talks between the two countries to complete the first stage of the agreement had reached a dead end in November, which raised fears of the collapse of the fledgling deal and dashed the hope of stopping the trade war that has lasted for nearly two years now.

US President Donald Trump was ready to impose new 15 percent tariffs in the middle of last month, valued at about $ 156 billion, on imports from China, including smartphones and games, if trade disputes with Beijing were not settled.

In addition to the suspension of the decision to impose the new fees, the American administration agreed to reduce the fees imposed on Chinese goods by 120 billion dollars from 15% to only 7.5%.

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Fees and commodities
For his part, US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said that the duties imposed by 25% on a number of Chinese goods valued at $ 250 billion will remain the same after the interim agreement.

The trade agreement promises - according to the newspaper - that China will increase its purchases of goods and services from the United States, and allow American companies to access the sectors of Chinese banking, insurance and money, put an end to the threat of customs duties, and restore relations between the two largest economies in the world to normal.

And the American newspaper goes on to say that the agreement as it stands is not what either country was looking for. The United States will not receive substantial reforms in China's economic policy, which it sought to help American companies.

The Wall Street Journal indicated that, during a dinner held before Christmas in Beijing with his Chinese President, Chi Jinping, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe had expressed his hope that the first-stage trade agreement would encourage China to further liberalize its economy.

It was not easy to reach a settlement stage between Washington and Beijing, as difficult negotiations were marred by many differences of views. According to the American newspaper, Trump almost ran out of patience last summer after he was angered by anger over China's failure to fulfill its pledge to buy soybeans and other US goods.

In the face of this, the US President threatened in August to increase tariffs on half of the goods China sold to the United States, and to impose new duties on the other half.

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Comment and tweet
In turn, China responded by suspending the purchase of US agricultural products, abandoning a promise it had made previously. Trump commented on this in a Twitter post on August 23, ordering US companies to immediately start looking for an alternative to China and return their projects to the United States.

However, Sheldon Adelson, CEO of Las Vegas Sands - who donated $ 20 million to Trump's election campaign - warned the president that imposing new tariffs on imports from China would harm the US economy and its re-election opportunities because a step in that direction would raise consumer prices.

On the other hand, China - which is also concerned about the impact of the trade war on its economy - has indicated that it is willing to negotiate with the United States. In secret, Washington was engaged in discussions about how to reach a settlement with Beijing.

Last May, the two countries were close to reaching a comprehensive agreement, but it required China to amend up to sixty laws and regulations covering intellectual property, regulatory review committees, financial services and other areas.

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Negotiations and settlement
But all those efforts collapsed when China's chief negotiator and Deputy Prime Minister Liu He failed to obtain the approval of the country's top leadership for these demands.

The negotiators of the two sides soon engaged in the search for new ways to reach a settlement through various stages, starting with agricultural purchases and other issues less controversial.

Prior to the eve of New Year celebrations, Trump told reporters that he would travel to Beijing soon for talks on the second phase of the trade agreement, hinting that his Chinese counterpart might also visit the United States, but Beijing has not confirmed the possibility of its president to make that visit.

The Wall Street Journal goes on to say that the United States is counting on applicable tariffs to force Beijing to continue negotiating and agreeing to changes in its economic policy.

If those attempts fail, Washington may use other pressure elements, such as restricting the ability of Chinese companies to offer their shares in the US market.

However, Chinese officials believe that they will not get major gains from a second stage, forcing Beijing to limit state control of the economy. For his part, Trump said that a second stage of the agreement may not be completed until after the US elections on the third of November.

According to the newspaper, the Chinese government will continue its plans for a future in which the economies of the two countries are less connected to each other, while it goes into developing the technology sector rather than relying on US imports.