Investing.com -- China's Commerce Ministry said it has agreed with the U.S. on a text for a phase-1 trade deal that would see U.S. import tariffs on Chinese goods reduced in stages, Vice Commerce Minister Wang Shouwen said on Friday.
The text "includes nine chapters, including intellectual property rights, technology transfer, food and agriculture, financial services, exchange rate and transparency, expanding trade, bilateral evaluation, dispute settlement and final agreement," the English-language Chinese paper Global Times said, without providing details.
CNBC cited deputy Finance Minister Liao Min as saying that "China will without doubt purchase good quality U.S. product," but also as saying that "data and detailed terms will be released later."
There was, however, still no joint statement on what has actually been agreed. The Chinese comments came only a few minutes after President Donald Trump denied via Twitter reports suggesting that he was willing to cut import tariffs on Chinese goods in stages in return for commitments to buy U.S. agricultural goods.
Trump had tweeted on Thursday after a meeting with his trade advisors that the two countries were "very close" to a "big deal" with China.