Vice Premier Liu He To Meet Trump At White House

Vice Premier Liu He will hold talks with US President Donald Trump at the White House on Thursday, officials in Washington said, signalling that a deal to end a tariff battle between the two countries may be close.

Liu, who's China's top trade negotiator, will meet Trump in the afternoon, according to an official scheduling note from the president's office.

Chinese and US negotiators are working to find a binding agreement to address Trump's complaints about years of unfair treatment of US companies by Beijing, which would allow a rollback of the tariffs hitting businesses in both countries.

US officials say that China has been using unfair trade practices for years by heavily subsidising its companies while snatching the technological know-how of American firms.

On March 29, Trump said that negotiations to end the bruising tariffs battle with Beijing were going "very well," but reiterated that he will only accept a "great deal."

Trump said that US and Chinese negotiators were close to a deal, but US officials however played down expectations of an imminent agreement. (AFP)