On March 28 and 29, 2019, Ambassador Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin met with their Chinese counterparts to continue ongoing trade negotiations between the two countries. The discussions are intended to reduce the current tensions in the trade relationship of the two countries. In furtherance of this goal, on February 24, 2019, President Trump announced that he intended to delay a tariff increase on Chinese imports that had been set for March 1, 2019. The President has, however, indicated that he will impose the announced tariff increase should the trade talks falter.

A number of high-level Administration officials were involved in the U.S. delegation’s visit to Beijing, including Ambassador Lighthizer, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, and Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Jeffrey Gerrish. The U.S. negotiators described the talks as “constructive,” but neither the U.S. nor Chinese delegation identified any specific substantive progress resulting from the discussions. For his part, President Trump has expressed optimism about the progress being made in the ongoing talks, asserting that the negotiators are “very close” to reaching an agreement. Other reports, including statements by Ambassador Lighthizer, indicate that significant obstacles remain before an agreement can be reached.

Ambassador Lighthizer continued the talks with Vice Premier Liu He, China’s primary trade envoy, in Washington, D.C. on April 4, 2019. The talks have a goal of concluding initial terms that could be the subject of a future summit between President Trump and China’s President Xi Jinping in late April. It is unclear at this time whether an April summit between the two will take place. A failure to conclude an agreement by late April will not impact the negotiations because neither side has publicly identified any deadline for conclusion of an agreement.