Trade war: Donald Trump to meet Chinese Vice-Premier Liu He as negotiators eye presidential summit
- Pair to meet on Thursday with officials said to be discussing when Trump and counterpart Xi Jinping could meet to sign a deal
- Details of agreement still to be finalised, but China ‘has made further concessions, including greater opening of its market’
China and the United States are gaining momentum towards a deal to end their trade war, with US President Donald Trump set to meet Chinese Vice-Premier Liu He.
An announcement of the summit date would mean the two sides have made a significant breakthrough towards a deal, but a lack of it would mean they needed to make a much harder effort to narrow their differences – including the verification mechanism and cutting subsidies to state-owned enterprises, analysts said.
Liu was greeted by US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer outside the US Trade Representative office on Wednesday morning and, in a rare display of enthusiasm, Liu waved to reporters before entering the office.
A source said that China had made further concessions during this round of talks, including greater opening of its markets, and that it was pushing for a summit between Xi and Trump to sign a deal later this month. Another possible option was for the two leaders to meet in June at the G20 summit in Japan.