China says it has agreed with the US to cancel tariffs in phases

China and the United States have agreed to a phased rollback of tariffs that were imposed during the course of their months-long trade war, the Chinese commerce ministry told Reuters on November 7.

Gao Feng, the Chinese commerce ministry's spokesperson, said that both the countries must simultaneously start removing some tariffs on each other's goods to ensure they are able to reach a "phase one" deal.

The removal of tariffs is an important condition for the sparring countries to come to an agreement, he said at a press briefing.

"The trade war started with tariffs, and should end with the cancellation of tariffs," Gao told reporters.

He did not, however, give a timeline.

Chinese negotiators wanted the US to drop the 15 percent tariff that went into effect on September 1 on about $125 billion



worth of Chinese goods, a source previously told Reuters.

They are also seeking relief from earlier 25 percent tariffs on about $250 billion of imports from machinery and semiconductors to furniture.

A deal may be signed this month by US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping at a yet-to-be determined location.

Dozens of venues have been suggested for a meeting, which had originally been scheduled to take place on the sidelines of a now-cancelled mid-November summit of Asia-Pacific leaders in Chile, a senior official of the Trump administration told Reuters on November 6.

One possible location was London, where the two leaders could meet after a NATO summit that Trump is due to attend from December 3-4, the official said.

Gao declined to say when and where such a meeting could be.