President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart Donald Trump will witness the signing of deals that could be worth up to US$280 billion later on Thursday, according to people who have seen an initial list of the agreements.
If the deals are confirmed, it would make Trump’s visit to China one of the most fruitful for Chinese and US businesses in terms of the value of the deals struck, displaying Beijing’s efforts to narrow its trade surplus with the US and sooth Trump’s complaints about the two nations’ unbalanced trade relationship.
Among a long list of agreements ranging from shale gas to car parts, China Petroleum and Chemical Corp, the state energy group, will sign a “very big” deal to jointly explore for natural gas with the US in Alaska, according to the sources.
