United States and Chinese negotiators on Thursday kicked off two days of high-level talks that President Donald Trump says could decide whether he escalates the bruising tariff battle between the world’s two biggest economies.
Trump indicated this week he was open to extending a trade truce beyond March 1 depending on progress in Beijing. He is considering pushing the deadline back an additional 60 days, Bloomberg News reported, citing sources.
In December he postponed plans to sharply hike tariffs on $200-billion of Chinese imports to allow more time for negotiation.
The two economic superpowers have already imposed duties on more than $360-billion in two-way trade, which has weighed on their manufacturing sectors and shaken global financial markets.
US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin are meeting with China’s top economic czar Liu He, seeking to build on progress made in Washington last month.
We are “looking forward to discussions today”, Mnuchin said as he left his hotel Thursday morning for the talks.
Expectations for a trade deal have grown as China faces pressure from slowing economic growth, and as swooning global markets pose a challenge to Trump and his economic advisors.
Data released Thursday in China showed its trade surplus with the US — a major source of anger within the Trump administration — narrowed in January to $27.3-billion, even as its American imports plunged 41 percent for the month from a year earlier.