White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said on Thursday there was momentum to finalize the initial phase of a U.S.-China trade deal that was outlined last week, and it may be signed at the APEC forum next month in Chile.

In an interview on CNBC, Kudlow said the first phase of the China trade deal was “for real” and went beyond Chinese purchases of U.S. agricultural products to include the opening of non-tariff barriers on agriculture.

“There’s a lot of momentum, and there’s agreement on both sides,” he said. “This is for real.”

Kudlow said a day had not been set to sign any agreement, and that the pact may be signed at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Forum in Santiago in mid-November, or that it may not.

Both Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are slated to attend the forum.

On Wednesday, Trump initially told reporters at the White House that he likely would not sign the agreement until he met with his Chinese counterpart at APEC.

However, later on Wednesday at a news conference alongside Italian President Sergio Mattarella, Trump said: “The agreement — we hope to have it signed some time prior to Chile.”

Kudlow told reporters at the White House on Thursday that the issue of forced technology transfers might have to wait and go into a second phase of the trade deal.

Still, there was a lot of cooperation on both sides, he added.

Source: Susan Heavey and Alexandra Alper, Agriculture.com