WEB DESK
High-level trade officials from the US and China will meet in Washington today to negotiate in the hope of defusing an escalating tariff war.
The Chinese delegation will be led by Vice Premier Liu He, a close economic adviser of Mr Xi, and central bank governor Yi Gang. They will meet with the US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and White House trade advisor Peter Navarro.
Chinese delegation is expected to meet US President Donald Trump at the end of the two-day talks.
The discussions in Washington will be the first face-to-face cabinet-level discussions with China since Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in December last year struck a three-month-long truce in their trade war.
If no deal is reached by March 2, tariffs on 200 billion US dollars of Chinese imports are set to increase from 10 per cent to 25 per cent.
The visit of the Chinese delegation comes after the US Justice Department unveiled charges against Chinese telecoms giant Huawei and its chief financial officer.
However, US Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross has said the indictments were separate from trade negotiations with China.
Mr Trump has long blamed China’s rise as an exporter for a loss of manufacturing and other jobs in the US.
Chinese officials are resistant to the wholesale changes sought by the US and the charges against Huawei.