China says the 'trade war is not over yet' ahead of phase-one deal signing with US

• Chinese state media reiterated Monday that an interim trade agreement wouldn't mark the end of its tit-for-tat economic dispute with the US.
• The comment underscored key issues that remain unresolved between the two sides, even as they prepare to sign the phase-one deal.
• Unresolved issues include the subsidies and cheap loans China awards to its businesses, which American officials and executives argue distort the global market.
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Chinese state media reiterated Monday that an interim trade agreement wouldn't mark the end of its tit-for-tat economic dispute with the US, underscoring key issues that have been left unresolved between the two sides.

"We must bear in mind that the trade war is not over yet - the US hasn't revoked all its tariffs on China and China is still implementing its retaliatory measures," Taoran Notes, an influential social media account affiliated with China's state-run Economic Daily, said. "There are still many uncertainties down the road."

The US and China are set to sign a so-called phase-one agreement in Washington on Wednesday, a de-escalation that has been widely sought after around the globe for more than a year. It was announced in October but the final 86-page text, which was subject to legal checks and translation processes, has not yet been revealed.

As part of that deal, the US will lower a portion of tariffs against China in exchange for increased market access for international finance firms and stricter rules around intellectual property and currency movements. President Donald Trump has also touted a $50 billion agricultural purchase quota that has not yet been confirmed by China.

The phase-one agreement has been widely cheered by companies and investors who have increasingly complained that the dispute has raised costs and cast uncertainty on business plans.

But it left out some of the most complex issues the Trump administration cited in the Section 301 investigation that initially led to escalations in early 2018, including the large-scale subsidies and cheap loans awarded to Chinese businesses by the government. American officials and executives have long argued that practice has put domestic companies at a disadvantage in the global market.

That issue could be targeted in a second stage of negotiations, but critics have cast doubt on the prospect that China would follow through with moves that would significantly loosen its grip on the state-run economy.

Administration officials including Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin have said that the two sides would immediately head into another round of negotiations after Wednesday. But Trump has said that he might prefer that a phase-two deal be completed following his bid for re-election in November.