China's trade surplus with US dropped 8.5% to US$296b in 2019

[BEIJING] China's trade surplus with the United States narrowed last year as the world's two biggest economies exchanged punitive tariffs in a bruising trade war, official data showed Tuesday.

The figures were released just a day before the US and China are expected to sign a "phase one" agreement that marks a de-escalation in their two-year conflict.

The perennial US trade deficit with China has been a major source of anger for President Donald Trump, who has slapped tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars worth of Chinese goods, triggering tit-for-tat responses from Beijing.

China's surplus came in at around US$295.8 billion in 2019, down 8.5 per cent from the previous year's record US$323.3 billion, according to customs data.

In December, its surplus with the US was around US$23.2 billion, down from US$24.6 billion the month before.

As part of the interim trade deal, Beijing will buy an extra US$200 billion of US products over a two-year period, according to Washington officials. China has yet to publicly confirm the figures.

AFP