China considers cancelling trade talks with US after Trump vows new tariff hike: Report
Xi Jinping
China is considering cancelling trade talks with the United States this week after US President Donald Trump vowed to hike tariffs on China, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday citing a source.
Earlier on Sunday, Trump announced he would hike US tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods this week and target hundreds of billions more soon.
The decision on whether talks will be cancelled depends on whether Vice Premier Liu He goes to Washington as planned, the journal reported, citing a source, who added that cancelling talks would conform to China's strategy of not negotiating under threat.
Trump had previously delayed the tariff increases earlier in the year, citing productive talks with China.
Sunday's announcement casts into doubt previous expectations that China and the United States were closing in on a deal to end a months-long trade war that has slowed global growth and disrupted markets.
US-China trade talks are due to resume this week. The meeting follows talks in April in Beijing that Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin called "productive."
As recently as Friday, Trump said talks with China was going well.
Last week, industry sources said they believed the talks were in the endgame, and Mnuchin had said he hoped that the USnegotiating team would soon be able to recommend a deal to Trump or tell him that one could not be reached.
The administration has been insisting on a mechanism to ensure that China follows through on any promises to purchase more American goods.
Administration officials have said both sides are expected to launch new enforcement staffs to police the agreement.