Trump- Xi meet raises truce hope

A XI- TRUMP meeting, if it happens, would take place during the G20 summit in Argentina late November. THE TRADE WAR between the two countries could depress growth

Beijing, Oct. 13: With China and the US opening door to a meeting next month between Presidents Xi Jinping and Donald Trump, hopes are rising for a potential easing of tensions in the trade war between the world's two largest economies.

Worries about the increased tariffs the two sides have imposed on each other's goods contributed to a dizzying bout of volatility in financial markets this week. The higher tariffs raise costs for companies in both countries, and economists say that if they remain in place indefinitely, they could depress economic growth.

A Xi- Trump meeting, if it happens, would take place during the G20 summit in Argentina late November. “I don't think any decision has been made in regards to a meeting,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told reporters Saturday in Bali, Indonesia, where he's attending global finance meetings.

Still, Larry Kudlow, Trump's top economic adviser, said in Washington on Friday that preparations for the talks were under way. “It looks like there will be a meeting in Buenos Aires at the G- 20,” Kudlow said in an interview with CNBC. “We are looking at it. The Chinese are looking at it. Preparations are being made.”

Kudlow said that so far, the administration viewed China's negotiating offers as “rather unsatisfactory” but that “maybe talks between the two presidents will bear fruit.”

Asked if China would need to make specific concessions for such a meeting to take place, Mnuchin said, “To the extent that we can make progress toward a meeting I would encourage that and that's something we're discussing on, but for the moment there's no preconditions. The president will decide on that.”

The trade feud has been fueled by U. S. accusations that China engages in cyber- theft and coerces foreign companies into handing over technology in return for access to the Chinese market, as well as by Trump's anger over China's trade surplus with the U. S. It is unclear if U. S. may consider lifting penalty tariffs on about $ 250 billion of Chinese products.