'Trump, Xi likely to meet next month', WH official says amid escalating trade tensions

There is a "strong possibility" that the two presidents will hold talks on the sidelines of the conference in Osaka, White House chief economic advisor Larry Kudlow said during a TV programme.

China's President Xi Jinping (back L) and US President Donald Trump (back 2nd L) attend a welcome ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on November 9, 2017. - (Photo by Nicolas ASFOURI / AFP)

New Delhi: US president Donald Trump and Chinese premier Xi Jinping are likely to meet next month in Japan during the G20 economic summit. A White House official announced amid escalating tensions between the world’s two largest economies. There is a "strong possibility" that the two presidents will hold talks on the sidelines of the conference in Osaka, Efe news quoted White House chief economic advisor Larry Kudlow as saying during a TV programme on Fox News on Sunday. Last week, negotiations to reach an agreement to end the trade war, broke down. The trade war began in 2018 with Trump’s decision to impose a 10 percent tariff on dollar 200 billion worth of goods from China, which retaliated with levies on 60 billion dollars worth of US products. On Friday, Trump raised  tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods from 10 per cent to 25 per cent, prompting a swift rebuke from Beijing as trade talks held in Washington failed to produce a breakthrough. The President also ordered to begin the process of raising tariffs on essentially all remaining imports from China, which are valued at approximately $300 billion. He said he was in "absolutely no rush" to finalize the trade agreement with China and that bilateral talks, due to resume in Washington later on Friday, were continuing in a very "congenial" way. Tariffs on the targeted exports increased to 25 per cent at 12.01 a.m. on Friday. In response, China expressed "deep regret over the development" and said it would respond in kind. The Ministry did not give specifics on how it would respond. The Chinese Commerce Ministry in a statement said that Beijing will have to take necessary countermeasures after the latest tariff hike. "China deeply regrets that it will have to take necessary countermeasures. The 11th round of China-US high-level economic and trade consultations is underway. "It is hoped that the US and the Chinese side will work together and work together to resolve existing problems through cooperation and consultation," the statement added.