Top US officials arrive in China for trade talks as deadline looms
US representative Robert Lighthizer and treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin will meet Chinese Vice-Premier Liu He in a bid to resolve the impasse
Beijing — Top US officials arrived in the Chinese capital on Tuesday ahead of high-level trade talks as the world’s two largest economies attempt to hammer out a deal ahead of a March 1 deadline and avoid another escalation of tariffs. US trade representative Robert Lighthizer and treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin are scheduled to hold talks on Thursday and Friday with Chinese Vice-Premier Liu He, top economic adviser to President Xi Jinping. If the two sides cannot reach a deal by March 1, US tariffs on $200bn worth of Chinese imports are scheduled to increase to 25% from 10%. China will likely respond by raising tariffs on $60bn worth of US goods it announced in 2018 in retaliation. “We’re looking forward to several important days of talks,” Mnuchin told reporters after arriving at a Beijing hotel. Lighthizer, who arrived at the hotel earlier in the day, did not answer reporters’ questions. Washington is expected to keep pressing Beijing on long-standing demands that it make sweep...
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