China's trade surplus with US dropped to $296b

China's trade surplus with the United States narrowed last year as the world's two biggest economies exchanged punitive tariffs in a bruising trade war, official data showed Tuesday. The figures were released just a day before the US and China are expected to sign a "phase one" agreement that marks a de-escalation in their two-year conflict.

The perennial US trade deficit with China has been a major source of anger for President Donald Trump, who has slapped tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars worth of Chinese goods, triggering tit-for-tat responses from Beijing. China's surplus came in at around $295.8 billion in 2019, down 8.5 percent from the previous year's record $323.3 billion, according to customs data. In December, its surplus with the US was around $23.2 billion, down from $24.6 billion the month before.

As part of the interim trade deal, Beijing will buy an extra $200 billion of US products over a two-year period, according to Washington officials. China has yet to publicly confirm the figures. Taal volcano in the Philippines could spew lava and ash for weeks, authorities warned Tuesday, leaving thousands in limbo after they fled their homes fearing a massive eruption.

The crater of the volcano exploded to life with towering clouds of ash and jets of red-hot lava on Sunday, forcing those living around the mountain south of Manila to flee to safety.

Many residents abandoned livestock and pets as well as homes full of belongings after authorities sounded an alert warning that an "explosive eruption" could come imminently.

Some 30,000 are currently in shelters. Gerald Aseoche, 30, fled with his four young children and a few possessions, and has refused to leave them to go to work as the volcano belches out lava and earthquakes tied to the eruption rattle the region.

"I am hoping this won't go on too long because I will lose my job if I can't report to work immediately," Aseoche, a house painter, told AFP at an evacuation centre.

"I can't leave them... family first," he said as he cradled one of his children. Taal is one of the most active volcanoes in a nation hit periodically by eruptions and earthquakes due to its location on the Pacific "Ring of Fire" a zone of intense seismic activity.

The Taal eruption has been putting on a stunning and terrifying display, with lightning crackling through its ash cloud in a poorly understood phenomenon that has been attributed to static electricity. Renato Solidum, head of the Philippines' seismological agency, said Taal's previous eruptions have gone on for as long as months so it was impossible to predict an end to the current activity.

However, he said the alert warning of a potentially catastrophic "explosive eruption" may remain in place for weeks, depending on developments. "We have a protocol of waiting for several days, sometimes two weeks, to make sure that indeed... volcano activity has essentially stopped," he told.