Trump to discuss trade with China's Xi as talks continue

[May 08, 2018]  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said he will discuss trade with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday, as both sides continue talks after failing to reach a consensus at talks in Beijing last week.

President Donald Trump speaks during a roundtable discussion on tax reform at the Cleveland Public Auditorium in Cleveland, Ohio, U.S., May 5, 2018. REUTERS/Aaron P. Bernstein

Trump announced the planned telephone call in a post on Twitter, just days after a U.S. delegation returned from discussions in Beijing last week with no agreement on a long list of U.S. demands, and ahead of more negotiations next week.

Trump, calling Xi "my friend," pledged in the post that "good things will happen" on trade.

Next week, China's top economic official, Vice Premier Liu He, is scheduled to visit Washington to resume negotiations sparked by the Trump administration's threat to impose tariffs on up to $150 billion of Chinese imports.

Tariff threats have roiled U.S. and other stock markets in recent weeks amid fears a trade war between the world's two largest economies will impact global markets.

Last week, a seven-member U.S. delegation returned to Washington and briefed Trump on their meeting with Chinese counterparts.

(Reporting by Susan Heavey and Makini Brice; Editing by Bernadette Baum)

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