Trump ‘could extend’ deadline for China deal

US President Donald Trump

UNITED States President Donald Trump has said he could extend the March 1 deadline to reach a trade deal with China if they are making good progress.
Chinese and US officials will hold high-level talks this week aimed at halting their damaging trade war.
US officials previously said March 1 was a hard deadline for achieving a deal to avert further tariffs.
Both countries have imposed duties on billions of dollars worth of one another’s goods.
Deputy-level talks began this week in Beijing. High-level discussions, led by US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Chinese Vice Premier Liu He, are due to begin on Thursday as both sides rush to make progress before the March 1 deadline.
“If we’re close to a deal where we think we can make a real deal and it’s going to get done, I could see myself letting that slide for a little while,” Trump said referring to the March 1 deadline.
“But generally speaking, I’m not inclined to do that.”
The US has imposed tariffs on $250 billion worth of Chinese goods, and China has retaliated by imposing duties on $110 billion of US products.
In December, both countries agreed to halt new tariffs for 90 days to allow for talks.
The US has said it will increase tariff rates on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports from 10 percent to 25 percent if the two sides don’t strike a deal by March 1.
Trump has also threatened further tariffs on an additional $267 billion worth of Chinese products. — BBC