Trump's visit to Beijing may help ease trade tensions, but also provides an opportunity for him to demand more concessions from China.

Experts said US President Donald Trump appeared to have sent "New Year's gifts" to China on December 31, when he announced he would sign a "very large and comprehensive" first-phase trade agreement at the White House. January 15, then flew to Beijing to begin negotiating a second phase trade deal.

The US-China trade war has shown signs of significant cooling since the middle of last month after nearly two years of negotiations, when Washington decided to postpone tariff increases with US $ 160 billion of Chinese goods and a 15% tax rate to be halved. In response, Beijing agreed to buy large quantities of US agricultural products and additional taxes on some US goods were also postponed.

US officials said the first-phase trade agreement is in the process of legal evaluation and translation, including 86 pages, nine chapters with content on intellectual property protection, tax reduction and settlement mechanisms. dispute.

White House adviser Peter Navarro also said the first-stage trade deal was "ready", adding that the document included provisions proposed in discussions ahead of the negotiation. collapsed in May last year.

Zhu Feng, professor of international relations at Nanjing University, China, believes that Trump's Beijing trip is a gesture of goodwill to improve relations between the two countries.

"A return to Beijing will benefit Trump," Zhu said, reminding the last time the US president visited China in 2017. "He should also invite Chinese President Xi Jinping to come. America to nurture US-China relations ".

Observers assess Trump's sign of healing with China could help him "score" in the race to the White House. "The pressure on the US economy also worries Trump. He aspires to start negotiating a second phase agreement with China to bring the conflict down the ladder," said Gao Lingyun, an expert at the Academy. Chinese Social Science in Beijing, said.

However, Shi Yinhong, a professor of international relations at the People's University of China, said Trump could also take advantage of the visit to demand more concessions from Xi, while China was already struggling. by complying with the terms of the first phase agreement, including increasing the value of US exports to the country to US $ 200 billion over the next two years.

"Trump may try to use the positive atmosphere created by the first-phase deal to push China to make more concessions, such as requiring additional US purchases, even when domestic demand for products that is not high, and urges Beijing to commit to reforming its economic structure, "Shi said.

According to analysts, China is unlikely to accept Trump's will. "The philosophy of Chinese trade negotiators is to consider starting the second phase of negotiations based on the results of the implementation of the first phase. Meanwhile, the US side wants to conduct the first phase agreement and discuss the second stage at the same time, "Gao said.

Beijing has not disclosed any details about the signing of the first-phase agreement. Many speculate the silence shows that the country is still preparing for any last-minute changes, in case Washington violates the spirit of the agreement.

Bai Ming, an expert with close ties to China's Ministry of Commerce, said the second-phase talks will focus on more difficult issues such as state subsidies for Chinese businesses, High-tech policies, although they have been mentioned in dozens of rounds of negotiations before.

Bai emphasized the discussion "it will be quite difficult if Washington resolves to contain Beijing". Most experts are also skeptical about the possibility of a second phase deal before the US presidential election on November 3.

"Regardless of what happens with the first phase deal, Trump will not change his approach when dealing with China. He is always trying to find a way to force Beijing to spend more things," Shi added. more.

Jia Qingguo, a professor of international relations at Peking University, agrees that the US president's visit to China will help trade relations between the two countries be more stable, but on the right conditions. agreed on issues in the second phase negotiated before Trump's visit.

"They will have to agree on terms that can be reached in the second phase trade agreement. If nothing is agreed, the visit will become an obstacle for China," Jia said. that tensions in a number of issues, including U.S. restraining orders with telecommunications conglomerate Huawei and other Chinese technology companies, are unlikely to cool down after Trump's trip.

Analysts, as well as former Chinese officials, argue that the signing of the first-phase trade deal is sooner or later, regardless of whether it takes place in China, the United States or a third country. "The beginning of January was probably a good time because both sides were eager to deal," said former Chinese Deputy Trade Minister Wei Jianguo.

According to Gao, the US-China trade relations in fact have not made a big difference and the situation is difficult to progress until both sides are not ready to "make up". The expert added that the more urgent task is to urgently take steps to bring the official trade conflict into a "truce".