With the March 1st deadline to thrash out a trade deal between the world's two biggest economic powerhouses looming,... the U.S. and China are set to sit down for last minute negotiations in Beijing.
Will they be able to strike a deal and bring some much needed stability back to the global economy?
Lee Seung-jae reports.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin arrived in China a few days ahead of his high-level meetings with Chinese officials in Beijing,... sounding optimistic a deal that satisfies both sides will be reached by the March 1st deadline.
With negotiations kicking off Thursday,... Mnuchin will be joined by U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer,... as well as David Malpass,... President Trump's pick to lead the World Bank.
China's delegation will be led by Vice Premier Liu He,... alongside the governor of China's central bank, Yi Gang.
The two-day talks come as Washington and Beijing agreed to a three-month ceasefire in December.
At the G20 Summit in Argentina,... the Trump administration suspended its plan to increase tariffs on 200-billion dollars worth of Chinese imports to 25-percent from the current 10-percent.
The hope was that it would give negotiators enough time to settle the trade spat that has triggered fears of a global economic slowdown.
President Trump has expressed his own optimism about reaching a deal,... and even suggested this week,... that he might be open to postponing the current deadline,... so both sides can reach an agreement.
Diplomatic sources say Trump may sit down with Chinese President Xi Jinping sometime in March,... once an agreement is sealed.
President Xi is expected to meet with the U.S. delegation in Beijing on Friday,... as they hope to shake hands on a deal as quickly as possible.
Lee Seung-jae, Arirang News.