Liu He to sign phase one deal this weekend?

It’s day 543 of the U.S.-China techno-trade war. The South China Morning Post reports:

Vice-Premier Liú Hè 刘鹤 is set to lead a delegation to Washington this Saturday, where he is expected to sign a phase one deal that would significantly de-escalate the U.S.-China trade war, a source briefed on the matter has told the South China Morning Post.

“Washington has sent an invitation and Beijing has accepted it,” said the source, who declined to be named due to the highly sensitive nature of the information. The Chinese delegation is expected to stay “a few days” in the US until the middle of next week, the source added.

Neither side has officially confirmed the trip. China’s Ministry of Commerce was not immediately available for comment.

We’ll see. We’ll see if they sign it. More importantly, we’ll see what happens after they sign it. Between the Chinese government’s record of not honoring signed agreements and Trump’s lack of coherence and ego-driven fickleness, only a fool would count on this deal to work out as advertised.

Related: “China approved two new genetically modified crops for import on Monday in a move that could boost agricultural purchases from the United States, the agriculture ministry said,” per the South China Morning Post.