China’s top trade negotiator Liu He to meet Donald Trump on Friday
- Hopes for a deal grow as White House announces pair will sit down together at 2.30pm
- While Liu meets Trump in Washington the Politburo gathers in Beijing to make economic plans for the year ahead
China’s top leaders stressed the need to ensure sustained economic growth and social stability in a meeting on Friday, as both Chinese and US negotiators continued their high-stakes discussions in Washington.
Vice-Premier Liu He was due to meet with US President Donald Trump on Friday afternoon to cap the two-day round of talks.
Negotiators are racing to strike a deal before the March 1 deadline, when Washington has said it will impose more than double the current tariffs on US$200 billion worth of Chinese imports.
The deadline is just two days ahead China’s annual key political gathering in Beijing, where the government will present its economic targets and measures in a work report for the year ahead.
On Friday, China’s ruling Politburo discussed the forthcoming report at its monthly gathering. A statement released after the meeting did not mention the trade war, or hint at any structural changes to the Chinese economy as demanded by the Trump administration.
Instead, it largely repeated the lines from the annual economic work conference in December, vowing to maintain stability and fend off risks.