Hard for Xi, Trump to make progress on trade: Former China central bank chief

China's PresidentXiJinping and US President DonaldTrumpare likely to find it "difficult" tomakemajorprogresstowards ending their countries'tradewar when they meet at a G20 summit in Japan in June, aformerChinesecentralbankchiefsaid on Friday.

Tradetensions between Washington and Beijing escalated sharply earlier this month after theTrumpadministration accusedChinaof having "reneged" on its previous promises to make structural changes to its economic practices.

Washington later slapped additional tariffs of up to 25% on $200 billion of Chinese goods, prompting Beijing to hit back with additional levies on around $60 billion of US imports due to take effect on Saturday.

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DaiXianglong, who headed the People'sBankofChina(PBOC) from 1995-2002 and remains an influential figure inChina, told a seminar in Beijing thatChina-US tradefriction was a long-term issue.

Chinahas approached thetradetalks with the principles of equality and cooperation, whereas the USapproach has been "bullying and America First", Dai said.

"It'shardto reconcile these," he added.

"I expect that next month's meeting of the leaders in Japan it will be difficult to achieve majorprogress."

Dai said he did not rule out stronger retaliation byChina.

Trumphas said he is planning on meetingXiduring the G20 summit, set for June 28-29 in Osaka, thoughChinahas not formally confirmed this.

Since the latest round of UStariffs, which caught Beijing by surprise, Chinese state media has gone on the offensive.

The People's Daily, the ruling Communist Party's flagship newspaper, warned this week thatChinawas ready to use its dominance of rare earth, crucial minerals used in electronics, to strike back in thetradewar.

The increasingly intense public relations battle with the United States with the deluge of sharply worded commentaries and warnings out ofChinain the last two weeks risks complicating the run-up to anyXi-Trumpmeeting in Japan.

At the Beijing seminar on Friday,formerChinese vice commerce minister Wei Jianguo said initiating atradewar withChinamight be the biggest strategic mistake made by the United States since World War II or even it's founding.

There is a need to prepare for the likelihood for thetradewar to ratchet up tensions to geopolitical areas including the SouthChinaSea, said Wei, adding that thetradeconflict might last for 30 years or even half a century.