Iran Press/Asia: US Treasury Secretary 'Steven Mnuchin' said he was looking forward to trade talks with Chinese Vice Premier 'Liu He' on Thursday, as discussions in Beijing moved to a higher level in a push to de-escalate a tariff war ahead of a March 1 deadline for a deal, Reuters reported.
The Chinese government has offered few details about the state of negotiations this week.
Stocks in Asia traded cautiously on Thursday afternoon as investors looked for progress in the months-long dispute.
The talks, scheduled to run through to Friday, follow three days of deputy-level meetings to work out technical details, including a mechanism for enforcing any trade agreement.
Liu He and US Trade Representative 'Robert Lighthizer' opened the meetings shortly afterward at the Diaoyutai state guest house.
Vice Premier 'Liu He' is a top economic adviser to Chinese President Xi Jinping.
US tariffs on $200 billion worth of imports from China are scheduled to rise to 25 percent from 10 percent if the two sides don't reach a deal by the deadline, increasing pressure and costs in sectors from consumer electronics to agriculture.
US President Donald Trump told reporters on Wednesday that the negotiations had been progressing 'very well'.
Trump's advisors have described March 1 as a 'hard deadline', and the president has said a delay was possible though he preferred not to do so. But, a Bloomberg report on Thursday cited sources saying he was considering pushing back the deadline by 60 days to give negotiators more time.
Related news:
China-US trade war: Trump and Xi agree 90-day truce on new tariffs
Trump has said he did not expect to meet with Xi prior to March 1, but White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders has raised the possibility of a meeting between the leaders at the president's personal retreat at Mar-a-Lago in Florida.
US Department of Agriculture Deputy Secretary Stephen Censky said on Wednesday that the two presidents were expected to meet 'sometime in March' but no dates were set.
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