The first phase of the US-China trade agreement , which concerns, among other things, technology transfer and improving the protection of IP and trade secrets by ending forced technology transfers , is a fact. In their recent meeting, US President Donald Trump and Chinese Vice Premier Liu He signed an extremely important trade agreement for both sides after a long period of negotiations and consultations. Thus, the two largest economic powers in the world have started the first phase of the agreement between them, while at the same time they are waiting for its completion with the second and final phase. This is a historic and unprecedented moment in the diplomatic relations of the two countries, which is expected to affect not only the US and China, but also the entire world. This trade agreement appears to put an end to the trade war between the two powers that began in the spring of 2018 over what the US called China's "underhanded" trade practices and led to the reciprocal imposition of tariffs worth hundreds of billions of dollars. Donald Trump, of course, stressed that the punitive tariffs imposed on China will remain in force until the second phase of the agreement is completed .
The 94-page agreement includes promises by China to improve protection of intellectual property, trade secrets and confidential business information, as well as to combat counterfeiting and online piracy. Most of the headlines in the agreement concerned the elimination of certain products from China, including mobile phones and computers . The parties pledged not to require technology transfers in connection with acquisitions, joint ventures or other investment transactions. The Chinese also pledged to buy heavy machinery and other products from the Americans, spending more than $200 billion over the next two years. In addition, the agreement contains provisions related to technology transfer and intellectual property protection, which was one of the US demands. China stressed that it recognizes the importance of establishing and implementing a comprehensive legal system for the protection and enforcement of intellectual property as it transforms from a major consumer of intellectual property to a major producer of intellectual property. Specifically, China agreed to impose “severer punishment,” including prison time and monetary fines, to deter further cases of IP theft. It is worth noting that both the US and the UK signed an agreement with China in 2015 that provided for the cessation of all economic espionage activities. However, the Chinese side has not kept its commitment. China is also increasing the collection of sensitive corporate data from all businesses operating within its borders. However, large data transfers may include sensitive data points, such as technological details and personnel information 
Finally, Chinese government hacking are increasingly using local companies as a front for their illegal espionage activities.
