Beijing's priority in any phase one trade deal with the United States is the removal of existing tariffs on Chinese goods, China's Global Times newspaper said on Sunday, amid continued uncertainty on whether the two sides can strike a deal.
"Sources with direct knowledge of the trade talks told the Global Times on Saturday that the U.S. must remove existing tariffs, not planned tariffs, as part of the deal," said the report.
Global Times, published by the official People's Daily newspaper of China's ruling Communist Party, also cited another unidentified source close to the talks as saying U.S. officials had been resisting such a demand because the tariffs were their only weapon in the trade war and giving up that weapon meant "surrender."