The US and China Want to Sign the Trade Agreement By the End of May

The U.S. and China are planning two rounds of face-to-face meetings as they seek to wrap up a trade deal, with negotiators aiming for a signing ceremony in late May or early June, according to people familiar with the situation.

U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin plan to travel to Beijing the week of April 29, according to the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations. The next week Chinese Vice Premier Liu He will come to Washington for negotiations. During his visit, officials want to announce the sides have struck a deal and details of a signing summit, probably set for late May, they said.

If senior US and Chinese officials succeed in reaching a final settlement, officials on both sides could spend several weeks drafting the text and the legal language of the agreement before the official signing ceremony by Donald Trump and Xi Jinping to be a fact more around the US Memorial Day, which this year falls on May 27th.