The United States and China are moving closer to agreeing on the amount of tariffs that would be rolled back in a phase-one trade deal despite tensions over Hong Kong and Xinjiang, people familiar with the talks said, Bloomberg reported. The people, who asked not to be identified, said that US President Donald Trump’s comments on Tuesday downplaying the urgency of a deal should not be understood to mean the talks were stalling, as he was speaking off the cuff. Recent US legislation seeking to sanction Chinese officials over human rights issues in Hong Kong and Xinjiang are unlikely to impact the talks, one person familiar with Beijing’s thinking said. US negotiators expect a phase-one deal with China to be completed before American tariffs are set to rise on December 15, the people said. Outstanding issues in the talks include how to guarantee China’s purchases of US agricultural goods and exactly which tariffs to roll back, they added. US trade representative Robert Lighthizer’s office did not respond to a request for comment, while China’s Ministry of Commerce also did not immediately respond to a fax seeking comment on tariff rollbacks. Investors are closely watching for any signs of progress on a phase-one deal, with stocks falling on Wednesday in Asia over renewed worries that Trump may impose more tariffs on China later this month. The US House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved legislation on Tuesday that would impose sanctions on Chinese officials over human-rights abuses against Muslim minorities, prompting Beijing to threaten possible retaliation. China foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying on Wednesday blasted US lawmakers as “too ignorant, too shameless and too hypocritical.” While officials from both nations have emphasised repeatedly that talks are making progress and they remain in constant contact, the negative rhetoric on both sides recently has heightened fears that the talks could drag on. That is despite the fact that Trump’s strategy in trade talks has long been to play down his desire for a deal and slow-walk a negotiating partner. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said on Tuesday the US will go ahead with its plan to add tariffs on Chinese products if nothing changes come mid-December. A report from Chinese state media earlier had indicated the government would soon publish a list of “unreliable entities” if the Xinjiang bill passes that could lead to sanctions against US companies. Trump did not initiate the bill involving Xinjiang and a law supporting protesters in Hong Kong, and they are separate issues to the trade talks, according to Lu Xiang, an expert in bilateral ties at the state-run Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing, which is affiliated with the State Council. “If the US follows through with the threat of tariffs on December 15, that is definitely a re-escalation, and China will retaliate,” Lu said. ‘[Trump is] still weighing the conditions for a deal, but for his political interests, he needs a deal – no matter if it is signed in December, January or February.”