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, data showed Tuesday, just as the two prepare to sign a deal dialling down tensions.
The huge difference in trade traffic is a key bone of contention for
Donald Trump in a long-running stand-off that has seen him impose tariffs on goods worth hundreds of billions of dollars, triggering retaliation from
Beijing and jolting the global economy.
China's surplus came in at around $295.8 billion in 2019, down 8.5 percent from the previous year's record $323.3 billion, according to customs data.