Mauricio Valenzuela | picture alliance | Getty Images
China’s President Xi Jinping stands at the Cocoli locks in the Panama Canal. China’s head of state and party Xi Jinping was the first president of the People’s Republic of Panama to visit.
Chinese President Xi Jinping will meet with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer on Friday as both sides pursue a trade deal before an early March deadline, the South China Morning Post reported.
The report, which cites sources close to the matter, said Xi “is scheduled to meet” with key members of the U.S. trade delegation that’s in Beijing, including Lighthizer and Mnuchin. Chinese Vice Premier Liu He is also expected to attend a banquet for the U.S. delegation this week, according to the Morning Post.
China and the U.S. are trying to strike a deal before March 2. Otherwise, additional U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods could take effect.
The report comes a day after President Donald Trump said he would consider pushing back the current March deadline if it means a deal between the two countries can be reached soon. He added, however, he “would prefer not to.”
The trade tussle between China and the U.S. has sent ripples through financial markets over the past year. Investors have fretted over the impact of tariffs on corporate profits.
Neither the Treasury Department nor the U.S. Trade Representative’s office responded to CNBC’s request for comment.
Be the first to comment