Beijing has called on officials in Washington to abandon “illusions” of China conceding in the countries’ prolonged trade war, setting the stage for the high-stakes G20 sit-down between Chinese President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart Donald Trump. A commentary by Taoran Notes, a social media account affiliated with official newspaper Economic Daily , said late on Tuesday that the US side had changed its attitude to be more conducive to solving the trade conflict. But it also warned that talks “would not make substantive progress” if the United States continued to take action to pressure China. “There are some in the US that have still not clearly recognised China’s determination, and continue to harbour illusions that they can pressure China into submission,” the commentary said. “If the US does not change its thinking and its actions, then China and the US can only continue to ‘exchange views and maintain communication’ on trade and economic issues, without further substantive progress.” The latest post from Taoran Notes – which has published commentaries during the trade conflict that have seemed to contain insider information on the progress of negotiations – came days before Xi and Trump are expected to meet on the sidelines of the G20 summit on Saturday to discuss the months-long trade war. Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the matter, reported earlier that the US was considering suspending its next round of tariffs – on another US$300 billion of Chinese goods – after Xi and Trump meet, with trade negotiators on both sides discussing how restarting trade talks could be packaged as a victory to their respective domestic audiences. Analysts were sceptical about the chances of a breakthrough deal on trade and the strategic clash over technology, but said a best-case scenario might involve a temporary truce on new tariffs, similar to the agreement reached between the two leaders at the end of the G20 summit in Argentina in December. State media has issued tough rhetoric against the US since trade talks collapsed in May, accusing the American side of making unreasonable demands and rejecting Washington’s claims that China had backtracked on its promises. The state media commentaries at one point linked the trade war to China’s help to North Korea in the Korean war in 1953 – a move seen as stirring up nationalistic support. But state media has also stressed that the two nations could resolve their disputes. On Wednesday, a commentary by Communist Party mouthpiece People’s Daily said US tariffs and the ongoing China-US conflict were damaging international order, adding: “China hopes to make joint efforts with the US to manage disputes and expand cooperation, creating stability”. Tuesday’s Taoran Notes piece noted that there had been “new movement” in the trade conflict, with both sides agreeing to resume talks during a phone call on Monday between Chinese Vice-Premier Liu He and his US counterparts, Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. The commentary said Chinese measures in response to US actions had helped to change the US’ attitude in the conflict. Trade war talks back on but no high hopes for Xi-Trump deal “The US took the initiative to call [last week] to express that they want to use communication to quickly find a solution to our differences, showing an understanding of how to solve the problem,” it said. But it slammed the US Commerce Department’s blacklisting of five Chinese supercomputer companies through its “entity list” on Friday on national security grounds, describing it as a ploy to gain “bargaining chips” in the trade negotiations. “Even after our two leaders spoke by phone, the US side still did not stop their tricky little actions,” the commentary said. “The G20 date is getting closer and closer. Soon, we will see the outcome.”