USA and China move towards a trade agreement

WASHINGTON.- In a new favorable signal for the global economy,

United States

and

China

they managed to bring their positions closer to a trade agreement after the truce sealed in Buenos Aires by Donald Trump

Xi Jinping

after the G20 summit at the end of the previous year. However, the talks would go beyond the deadline of March 1 set by the White House.

Trump

He received Chinese Vice Premier Liu He on Friday in the oval hall, who handed him a letter from Xi Jinping highlighting the "significant progress" of the negotiations. Trump, in turn, said he saw "many opportunities to reach an agreement".

"We are making a lot of progress, I think there are many possibilities to reach an agreement," said the president.

When asked if he was willing to extend the deadline that he had set at the end of the previous year, Mr. Trump was ready to extend the talks with Beijing. "If I see that progress is being made, substantial progress is being made, it would not be inappropriate to extend this period," said the president.

The United States and China seek an agreement to end the trade war that erupted between the world's two largest economies after Trump imposed tariffs on steel and steel imports. aluminum the previous year. Tensions between Beijing and Washington have had the effect of tightening markets and fears of a decline in trade flows that could put an end to the global windfall of recent years. Negotiators have advanced, but the talks would be extended in order to finish tweaking the details of the final agreement. "I think we both think that there is a good chance that an agreement will be reached," Trump said.

According to the agreement reached in Buenos Aires, if Washington and Beijing failed in their attempt to reach an agreement before March 1 at midnight, the United States would raise tariffs from 10% to 25%. about $ 200,000 million. But, a sign that the negotiations are moving forward, Trump said he was willing to let this suspense increase as negotiations continue.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin also said the two countries had reached an agreement on the policy to guide the price of the Chinese currency. The president said that he hoped to meet Xi Jinping soon. The jump to the final chord could occur during this meeting.