Chinese vice premier arrives in the White House to sign phase one trade deal

Chinese delegation led by Vice Premier Liu He arrives at the White House Wednesday morning to sign phase one trade deal with the U.S.

At the invitation of the United States, Liu He - Beijing's chief negotiator for the China-U.S. comprehensive economic dialogue - arrived in Washington Monday afternoon. He met with U.S. business leaders Tuesday.

The world's two largest economies have spent around 18 months embroiled in a bitter trade dispute that imposed tit-for-tat levies on each other's commodities, mechanical parts and finished goods.

Beijing announced on Dec. 13, 2019, that China and the United States agreed on the text for a phase one economic and trade agreement "based on the principle of equality and mutual respect."

The text includes nine chapters: the preface, intellectual property rights, technology transfer, food and agricultural products, financial services, exchange rate and transparency, trade expansion, bilateral assessment and dispute settlement, and the final terms, according to a statement issued by the Chinese government last month.