The Chinese Commerce Ministry said the reduction in current US tariffs on the import of Chinese goods is a condition for signing the first trade deal, Reuters reported

The Chinese side believes that if the parties reach the first phase of the transaction, tariffs should be reduced accordingly, said Chinese Commerce Ministry spokesman Gao Feng.

He added that the US and China are in close contact.

Beijing has promised to take measures to protect its interests in response to the approval by the US House of Representatives of a bill on the situation in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.

He added that China is unlikely to unveil its own blacklist of companies.

When asked whether China would publish the list before the end of the year, Gao said that he currently did not have any additional information that he could disclose.

In early November, Gao said that the US and China must simultaneously abolish part of the current duties in order to reach an agreement on the first part of the trade transaction.