Top US officials said their trade pact with China remained on track despite rising tensions over the spread of the coronavirus, which had led president Donald Trump to question whether the commercial truce agreement implemented less than three months ago would hold up.
Robert Lighthizer, the US trade representative, and Steven Mnuchin, the Treasury secretary, held a conference call with Liu He, China’s vice-premier, on Thursday night to discuss the implementation of the so-called “phase one” agreement, with Washington offering an upbeat summary of the discussion.
“Both sides agreed that good progress is being made on creating the governmental infrastructures necessary to make the agreement a success. They also agreed that in spite of the current global health emergency, both countries fully expect to meet their obligations under the agreement in a timely manner,” USTR and Treasury said in a joint statement.