'Enormous progress' on China trade deal: White House

• US and Chinese officials have made strides toward formalizing the text of a partial trade deal.
• After a lengthy boycott, China has resumed some purchases of US agricultural goods.
• Scant details have been released and the two sides are now working to commit the terms.

WASHINGTON: US and Chinese officials have made strides toward formalizing the text of a partial trade deal but it remains incomplete, the White House said Friday.

The remarks from top economic aide Larry Kudlow reaffirmed Washington's hopeful message on trade with Beijing after a week in which the two sides exchanged a salvo of confrontational remarks.

Wall Street had also shuddered Thursday after Bloomberg reported that Chinese officials were skeptical of reaching a long-term trade deal with Washington.

"The deal is not complete but we've made enormous progress," Kudlow told reporters, reiterating upbeat remarks from the US side.

President Donald Trump on October 11 hailed a "very substantial phase one" accord with China, which he said touched on important areas such as intellectual property, currency exchange and US farm exports.

After a lengthy boycott, China has resumed some purchases of US agricultural goods but demand among Chinese buyers may not support the massive increases Trump expects.

Scant details have been released and the two sides are now working to commit the terms of the deal to paper, with plans to sign it later this month.

But hopes for a signing ceremony at the November 16-17 Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Chile were scuppered after Santiago canceled that event due to civil unrest.

Earlier in the week, US Secretary of State delivered a speech calling China "truly hostile" to the United States while Beijing accused Washington of "viciously attacking" China.

Meanwhile, the World Trade Organization on Thursday authorized China to slap tariffs on $3.6 billion in American exports in a dispute over US anti-dumping practices.

The two sides have put tariffs on virtually all of their half trillion dollars in annual two-way goods trade, but last month signaled a truce as Trump held off on some duty rate increases.

The trade war is slowing global growth, economists say.

Kudlow also told reporters Wednesday that US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell was safe in his position, despite Trump's persistent fury at the central bank.

"There are no conversations to get rid of him whatsoever," said Kudlow.

Trump on Thursday again indulged his Twitter habit of attacking the central bank, saying unnamed people were "VERY disappointed" in Powell and the Fed for raising rates in 2018 and cutting them too slowly this year.

The Fed on Wednesday cut its benchmark lending rate for the third time in a row, saying this would help protect the economy from a global slowdown and Trump's trade wars.