China will extend tariff exemptions for imports of some U.S. products by a year, according to the Chinese Ministry of Finance on Tuesday. 

The import exemptions were scheduled to expire on September 16 but will be extended to September 16, 2021.

Sixteen products received exemptions, including several insecticides and lubricants.

In late August, Chinese Vice Premier Liu He and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer had a phone conversation, reaffirming their commitment to the trade deal.

The two sides had a constructive dialogue on issues such as strengthening the bilateral coordination of macroeconomic policies and implementing the China-U.S. phase one economic and trade agreement reached in January.

Earlier this month, the U.S. extended some of China's tariff exclusions through year-end.

The outbreak of the novel coronavirus has traumatized the global economy and has brought some uncertainty to the implementation of the phase one trade deal.  In this year's government work report, the Chinese government emphasized its plan to implement the trade deal with the U.S. despite the challenges.

Data from China's General Administration of Customs showed that the total value of China-U.S. trade stood at 344 billion U.S. dollars during the first eight months of 2020, declining 3.5 percent from a year earlier.