China and the US have agreed to cancel in phases the tariffs imposed during their months-long trade war, the Chinese commerce ministry says, without specifying a timetable.
An interim US-China trade deal is widely expected to include a US pledge to scrap tariffs scheduled for December 15 on about $US 156 billion worth of Chinese imports, including mobile phones, laptop computers and toys.
Ministry spokesman Gao Feng said that both must simultaneously cancel some tariffs on each other's goods to reach a "phase one" trade deal.
"The trade war started with tariffs, and should end with the cancellation of tariffs," he said.