Mubasher: Senior US and Chinese officials will come together on 15 August via videoconference to review the implementation of the first phase of the bilateral trade deal inked early this year, according to Reuters.

The US trade representative, Robert Lighthizer, and Chinese vice premier, Liu He, will attend the meeting, which will assess China’s commitment to the deal.

The meeting plan was first reported by the Wall Street Journal, but the US Trade Representative’s office and the US Treasury have not confirmed, Reuters referred.

As per the trade deal's first phase signed in January, China has announced its compliance to increase its exports of US goods and services by about $200 billion, including agricultural products, compared to 2017 levels.

However, China, which was hit by the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, is far behind its target of a $77 billion rise in purchases for 2020.

China has purchased only 5% of the energy products necessary for the $25.3 billion goal for the first phase.

The phase one agreement is under threat amid the heightened tensions between the US and China over various issues, including the US blaming China for the outbreak of COVID-19 and China’s security law in for Hong Kong.

The disputes between the two countries are also caused by US President Donald Trump’s threat to ban the Chinese video app TikTok.