According to a recent report on Reuters, senior officials from China and the US are expected to come together for a virtual discussion to review the implementation of their phase one trade deal and to highlight any other concerns either side has with the other. This discussion would be a six-month review of the partial trade deal signed between the two countries earlier this year.

US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Chinese Vice Premier Liu He are also expected to be in attendance at this discussion. While it is yet to be confirmed officially by either side, expectations are that it could help dissipate some of the tensions building up between two of the world’s largest economies.

After several months of the trade war, the US and China had signed the phase one trade deal in January 2020 as a way to begin resolving their dispute. Under the initial agreement, China was supposed to spend an additional $200 billion on importing US goods.

However, the coronavirus pandemic derailed these plans as the focus shifted from the trade dispute and towards fighting the pandemic. Tensions between the two countries started building up over the past few months again as the US accused China for failing to report the severity of the outbreak initially.