China is considering cancelling a planned Washington trip this week by the country's top trade negotiator, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday. Beijing was surprised by US President Donald Trump's threat to levy new tariffs on trade with the country, the Journal reported, citing a person it didn't identify. The country doesn't want to negotiate under threat, the newspaper said.
The US and China are due to begin a fresh round of talks in Beijing on Tuesday as they edge closer to resolving their damaging trade dispute. The discussions will be led by US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Chinese Vice Premier Liu He.
President Donald Trump and the head of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, agreed last year that they wanted to reduce trade barriers. The decision by EU ministers gives the Commission authorization to conduct formal talks.
China on Tuesday said it would push further to open its economy and deepen ties with the EU, which has grown increasingly wary of Beijing's influence in Europe. EU Council president Donald Tusk hailed Beijing's new commitments at an EU-China summit in Brussels as a breakthrough with both sides committed to globalization and pursuing international rules.
China wants to work with the European Union on issues from climate change to trade, Premier Li Keqiang wrote in a German newspaper before a summit this week aimed at cementing ties.
United States Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Friday he had a productive working dinner the previous night in Beijing, kicking off a day of talks aimed at resolving the bitter trade dispute between the world's two largest economies.
US officials plan to travel to China next week to resume face-to-face talks aimed at ending a trade war between them, the White House has confirmed. And Chinese officials will travel to the US for further talks in Washington in early April.
US stocks have fallen after President Donald Trump said his administration was considering leaving tariffs on China for a substantial period. Mr. Trump said that a trade deal with Beijing was coming along nicely, but his comments dampened hopes a deal would be reached soon. US negotiators are due to visit China next week to resume talks.
The United States is delaying a planned increase of tariffs on more than US$200 billion in Chinese exports after substantial progress made in trade talks, President Donald Trump said on Sunday. Trump also said he planned to hold a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping at his Florida estate Mar-a-Lago to ink a deal.
Chinese negotiators have agreed to extend their stay in Washington, as the US and China push to strike a trade deal. The decision was the latest sign that the two countries may be nearing an agreement, as they look for a way out of last year's punishing trade war.