The full text of a partial US-China trade deal will be released only after it is signed next week, the White House said Friday.

After nearly two years of escalating conflict, US President Donald Trump and top Chinese trade envoy Liu He are due to sign a "phase one" agreement on January 15.

"The whole document will be released Wednesday," Larry Kudlow, director of the National Economic Council, told reporters.

The signing will be preceded by a formal dinner and followed by a lunch, he added, calling the agreement a major achievement.

"This is history."

Since the trade war started in the first half of 2018, talks between Washington and Beijing broke down acrimoniously more than once, creating doubts the economic powers would have the appetite to reach a "phase two" agreement.

Trump said this week that negotiations on the next phase would begin promptly but that signing that agreement might have to wait until after the 2020 presidential elections.

Details of the deal are scant, but some critics have claimed it amounts to a strategic retreat for the United States, which canceled some tariffs and reduced others in return for Chinese pledges to increase purchases of US exports by $200 billion over two years, including farm goods in particular.

Many tariffs will remain in place, but Kudlow on Friday said the accord amounted to a success.

"We got so much of what we wanted in this deal," he said.

US officials also say the agreement will touch on other areas of Chinese trade practices that were the subject of the Americans' major grievances, such as intellectual property, financial services, foreign exchange and dispute resolution.

Key points in the US-China 'phase one' deal
Washington (AFP) Jan 12, 2020 - After nearly two years of bare-knuckle battling, US President Donald Trump is set to sign a "phase one" trade deal with China on Wednesday.

Below are major elements of the deal announced December 13.

- Areas covered -

US and Chinese officials said the agreement includes protections for intellectual property, food and farm goods, financial services and foreign exchange, and a provision for dispute resolution.

"Importantly, the agreement establishes a strong dispute resolution system that ensures prompt and effective implementation and enforcement," US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said.

US officials have long said enforcement was crucial to ensuring that China holds up its end of the bargain, an area of nagging skepticism.

- Boost for US agriculture -

China had been the second largest market for US agricultural exports, but fell to fifth place since the start of hostilities.

Washington said Beijing has pledged to buy an additional $200 billion American goods over two years, compared to 2017 purchases.

This apparently would include agricultural products worth $40 to $50 billion, but it is unclear if that is a total, if it is over two years or annually.

Chinese authorities have yet to confirm these amounts.

Trump himself raised questions Friday over whether American farmers and ranchers can produce that amount, which would be about twice as high as the peak of China's purchases in 2012.

In 2017, prior to the start of hostilities, American farmers sold $19.5 billion in products to China. Those exports tumbled by more than $9 billion in 2018 as the trade war began and Beijing retaliated against US tariffs with punitive duties.

Han Jun, vice minister of agriculture in Beijing, said the partial agreement also would boost China's farm exports to the United States, including cooked poultry, pears and dates.

"Some of these problems have been talked about for more than 10 years, and this time there has been a substantive breakthrough," he said.

- Tariffs on hold -

As part of the deal, Trump canceled 15 percent tariffs that had been due to hit Sunday on $160 billion in Chinese goods, especially electronics like cell phones and computers, which would have been particularly painful to US consumers.

And in a major concession, the US will slash in half the 15 percent tariffs on another $120 billion imposed September 1, on consumer goods like clothing.

While Chinese officials said the US agreed to roll back the other tariffs in stages, for now Washington will keep in place the 25 percent duties on $250 billion in imports.

China's Vice Finance Minister Liao Min did not specify whether Beijing planned to cancel existing tariffs on US imports to China.

In September, Beijing removed tariffs imposed on 16 categories of US products.

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'Phase Two' China trade deal may come after US election: Trump
Washington (AFP) Jan 9, 2020
Negotiations for the second phase of a pending US-China trade deal will begin promptly but the outcome may wait until after this year's elections, President Donald Trump said Thursday. Trump's remarks come days before Beijing's trade envoy is due in Washington to sign a "phase one" agreement, marking a pause in the two sides' nearly two-year trade war. The US leader also openly cast doubt on whether American farmers would be able to supply China with the massive increases in agricultural exports ... read more