Chinese officials have expressed willingness to update some intellectual property protections, open their automotive and financial markets to American companies, increase their purchases of American agricultural products, and take other steps. However, they have resisted the Trump administration’s demands to make more significant changes to structural issues they say are key to managing their economy and protecting national security.
But pressure is growing to at least pause the trade war, which is set to worsen if the two sides do not make progress. In addition to the October tariff increase, Mr. Trump plans to impose another round of levies in December, at which point the United States will tax nearly every product China exports to America. That has prompted concern from farmers and businesses, who say the tariffs are weighing on sales and investment. While the president and his advisers maintain that the trade war is having a limited impact on the economy, they have admitted that these tariffs could impact American consumers as the holiday season approaches.
Business groups have welcomed the idea of announcing an agreement that would help to cool tensions that have spiraled as the Trump administration has placed tariffs on more than $360 billion of Chinese products, and China has retaliated with levies of its own.
On Thursday, a U.S. Chamber of Commerce official who had recently met with both negotiating teams said he was hopeful that the countries would announce a deal that would set rules around how China manages its currency and prevent Mr. Trump’s planned tariff increase from going into effect next week.
Myron Brilliant, the executive vice president and head of international affairs at the Chamber of Commerce, said that the two sides might announce a more comprehensive pact that strengthened China’s protections for intellectual property and further opened markets like financial services and automobiles to American companies.
The Trump administration could also contemplate removing the threat of additional tariffs that are scheduled to be imposed in December or roll back some of the tariffs it has already levied on more than $360 billion of Chinese goods based on the package of offers brought by the Chinese negotiating team, he said.
Officials from both sides have sounded relatively optimistic headed into this week’s talks. But Mr. Trump’s penchant for keeping negotiating partners guessing, and the on-again, off-again history of the trade war, has continued to cast uncertainty over the gathering. The countries appeared on the cusp of an agreement in April, only to have the deal fall apart and result in an escalation that has resulted in even more tariffs on Chinese and American goods.
Mr. Trump and the Chinese vice premier, Liu He, will meet in the Oval Office at 2:45 p.m.
Lower-level negotiations between the countries began in Washington on Monday. On Thursday, Robert Lighthizer, Mr. Trump’s top trade negotiator, and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin met with the for negotiations that dragged on late into the day.