Negotiators display their faith in a deal

The deadline for the United States and China to reach an agreement is looming ever closer, with further US tariffs set to come into effect on Dec 15. Although the US president could push back that deadline, as he did in October, there has been no indication yet that he will. And with a date and venue for their highly anticipated phase one deal having bitten the dust and no alternatives being forthcoming, there have been growing concerns that the feel-good consensus that some kind of deal was on the cards may prove vulnerable to the ravages of time.

It is therefore heartening to learn that the top trade negotiators of China and the US discussed matters relating to each other's core concerns in a telephone conversation on Tuesday morning.

According to a statement by China's Ministry of Commerce, the two agreed to maintain communication on the remaining issues of a first phase deal. They also agreed to continue to keep in touch to fix the "remaining issues" that are not yet resolved in their negotiations.