Two weeks before deadline, US and China take another step in the trade truce

The talks officially ended with a meeting between the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, the US representative of foreign trade, Robert Lighthizer, and the secretary of the US Treasury, Steven Mnuchin, which according to the Chinese leader has been realized "great progress", Xinhua state news agency reported.

The White House said the negotiations allowed "progress".

According to official information, Xi expressed hope that the two sides reach a mutually beneficial agreement next dialogue, to be held next week in Washington.

Previously, Mnuchin had qualified "productive" conversations with China, in a Twitter message published shortly before the meeting with Xi at the Great Hall of the People.

Negotiations ended around midday, as markets monitored signals that the two economic superpowers could maintain a truce on harmful tariffs.

The leaders of the two economies, the largest in the world, held two days of talks with the aim of creating a space for dialogue in order to avoid an escalation of their tariff war.

Neither the official bodies nor the Chinese media have advanced the results of the meeting, although the Chinese newspaper Global Times underlines the fact that both sides have taken pictures that reflect "good vibrations".

The Hong Kong newspaper Morning of South China pointed out, citing familiar sources of the subject, that there had been "progress" in the negotiations, but not enough to seal a definitive agreement.

This is the third face-to-face meeting between representatives of both countries since Xi and Trump agreed last December to a 90-day truce, Which means that the deadline for concluding a definitive commercial pact expires on March 1, under the threat of a significant increase in tariffs.

Prior to the meetings, Trump had suggested that if the Beijing talks went well, this deadline could be extended.

Trump's economic advisor, Larry Kudlow, had previously stated that Xi's willingness to meet with US officials was "a very good sign".

Washington accuses Beijing of "unfair trade practices", which include barriers to foreigners' access to their market, subsidies to Chinese companies, and theft of intellectual property, among others.

Chinese experts believe that it is unlikely that the leaders of the Communist Party will make significant changes to the industrial policy that favored the country's economic boom.