Trump extends China tariff deadline, cites progress in talks

US President Donald Trump said Sunday he will extend a deadline to escalate tariffs on Chinese imports, citing "substantial progress" in weekend talks between the two countries.

In this Friday, Feb. 22, 2019, file photo, President Donald Trump listens during his meeting with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington. Trump said Sunday he will extend a deadline to escalate tariffs on Chinese imports, citing "substantial progress" in weekend talks between the two countries. [Photo: AP]

Trump tweeted that there had been "productive talks" on some of the difficult issues dividing the U.S. and China, adding that "I will be delaying the U.S. increase in tariffs now scheduled for March 1."

Trump said that if negotiations progress, he will meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping at his Florida resort to finalize an agreement.

U.S. and Chinese negotiators met through the weekend as they seek to resolve a trade war that's rattled financial markets.

Earlier on Sunday, the Chinese delegation said China and the United States have achieved substantial progress on specific issues following their latest round of high-level economic and trade talks in Washington.

Trump had warned he would escalate the tariffs he has imposed on $200 billion in Chinese imports, from 10 to 25 percent, if the two sides failed to reach a deal. The increase was scheduled to take effect at 12:01 a.m. EST on March 2.

Speaking to governors gathered at the White House for an annual black-tie ball Sunday, Trump said he was doing "very well" with China.

"If all works well we're going to have some very big news over the next week or two," he said, though he took care to add that "we still have a little ways to go."

The reprieve is likely to be greeted with relief by financial markets.

The world's two biggest economies have been locked in a conflict. The two counties have slapped import taxes on hundreds of billions of dollars of each other's goods. The conflict has unnerved investors and clouded the outlook for the global economy, putting pressure on Trump and Xi to reach a deal.

"Trump clearly wants a deal and so do the Chinese, which certainly raises the probability that the two sides will come to some sort of negotiated agreement, even if it is a partial one, in the coming weeks," said Cornell University economist Eswar Prasad, former head of the International Monetary Fund's China division.

The Chinese delegation has disclosed that substantial progress was made on such specific issues as technology transfer, protection of intellectual property rights, non-tariff barriers, service industry, agriculture and exchange rates.

On Twitter, Trump said the two sides had made headway on issues including protection of trade secrets, forced technology transfer and U.S. agricultural sales to China. But the administration did not immediately provide details.

(Story includes material sourced from AP and Xinhua.)