The United States says it has finally nailed down a trade agreement that will give its farmers and meat packers access to China’s beef market.

In return, the U.S. has agreed to allow entry for cooked Chinese poultry products.

Trump administration officials hailed the deal as a significant advance toward boosting U.S. exports and close America's trade gap with the world's second-largest economy.

The United States would also allow U.S. companies to ship liquefied natural gas to China as part of the bilateral agreement reached following President Donald Trump's meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in April.

In Beijing, Vice Finance Minister Zhu Guangyao told reporters that the early results of the agreement showed that economic collaboration between the two sides "couldn't be closer."

"The key in these negotiations is specifics that are enforceable - literally the devil is in the details," said Scott Mulhauser, the former chief of staff at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing.

There have been previous announcements that U.S. beef had gained entry to China, but that didn’t happen.

"The more these agreements include real, concrete outcomes rather than platitudes, rehashing old ground or punts to the future, the better they are.

“American companies, workers, farmers and more are eager for more access to Chinese markets and they'll look to ensure reality matches the rhetoric of these promises," Mulhauser said.