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.
![China trade surplus with US dropped 8.5% to $296 bn in 2019](http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/afp.com/a88e2f9b49d5ef88cfc3c6643c13226e05583146.jpg)
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.