How the U.S. and China could undercut their trade deal

As the two countries nudge ever closer to striking an agreement, Ana Swanson and Keith Bradsher of the NYT explain how one of its key tenets could undercut Washington’s vision:

• “Any agreement seems certain to involve China’s promise to purchase hundreds of billions of dollars of American goods. For Mr. Trump, this is an essential element that will help reduce the United States’ record trade deficit with China.”

• “But those purchases will be ordered by the Chinese state, and most will be carried out by state-controlled Chinese businesses, further cementing Beijing’s role in managing its economy and potentially making United States industries even more beholden to the Chinese.”

“Both sides are trying to iron out an agreement by next week, to coincide with a visit to Washington by Liu He, the Chinese special envoy charged with negotiating the deal,” Ms. Swanson and Mr. Bradsher write. The goal is reportedly “to have an agreement by the end of that meeting, with a signing ceremony between Mr. Trump and President Xi Jinping of China potentially later this month.”

But there are still sticking points. “Those include how an agreement will be monitored and enforced, and how many of Mr. Trump’s tariffs come off and when,” according to Ms. Swanson and Mr. Bradsher.

Lyft went public. Here’s who won.

The ride-hailing company began trading on the public markets on Friday, with its stock closing up about 9 percent. But the file of winners is bigger than just those who bought into the stock before it listed:

• Gig economy start-ups. Lyft showed that there’s interest in the public markets for companies that rely on part-time employees. (But the big question is still whether they can ever make money.)