
U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, left, and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin greet Chinese Vice Premier Liu He as he arrives for trade talks in Washington on Oct. 10, 2019
President Donald Trump said he’s meeting with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He on Friday, fueling optimism about a positive outcome from this week’s high-level trade talks.
“Big day of negotiations with China. They want to make a deal, but do I? I meet with the Vice Premier tomorrow at The White House,” Trump wrote in a tweet on Thursday.
Stocks surged after the president’s tweet, rebounding from a wild overnight session sparked by the SCMP article as well as multiple other media reports.
Still, tensions between the two economic superpowers reached a fever pitch earlier in the week. The U.S. blacklisted 28 Chinese entities over alleged human rights violations against Muslim minorities in Xinjiang, while putting visa restrictions on Chinese officials involved. China responded “stay tuned” for retaliation against the blacklist.
Bloomberg News reported overnight that the White House is working up a partial deal to suspend next week’s tariff increase in exchange for a currency pact. The New York Times also reported that the Trump administration is granting licenses for some U.S. companies to sell nonsensitive supplies to Chinese telecom giant Huawei.
Credit to NBC News