WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump says he’ll hold trade talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping next week at a summit of nations in Japan.
In an escalating trade dispute with Beijing, Trump has already imposed 25% tariffs on $250 billion in Chinese imports. The goal is to pressure Beijing to stop stealing American technology, forcing U.S. businesses to hand over trade secrets and unfairly subsidizing Chinese tech companies.
Trump tweeted on Tuesday that U.S. and China negotiating teams will meet prior to his meeting with the Chinese leader at the Group of 20 nations in Osaka, Japan.
U.S. businesses are imploring Trump not to expand his tariffs to $300 billion in goods from China or at least spare those imports that are of key importance to their customers.