In a tweet over the weekend, Trump warned that he would raise tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese products to 25% from the current 10%, starting Friday. He also said he would tax nearly all of China's remaining exports to the United States "shortly" because of the slow pace of progress on a trade deal.
The threats prompted reports that China was considering pulling out of trade talks set to start on Wednesday. But Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang confirmed on Monday that a Chinese delegation "is preparing to go to the United States for talks."
"The urgent task right now is for the United States to work with China and move in the same direction so that we can reach a mutually beneficial and win-win agreement based on mutual respect," Geng said at a press briefing.
Geng declined to elaborate on the Chinese delegation's plans, including whether Vice Premier Liu He, China's lead negotiator, still plans to go.
Before Trump's threat, Liu was scheduled to arrive in Washington with a large delegation, a signal that the two sides could be nearing a comprehensive trade deal.
The US president's renewed tariff threat alarmed investors around the world, sending Asian markets plunging on Monday. The Shanghai Composite Index shed 5.6%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was about 3% lower. Major European stocks opened more than 2% lower on Monday morning.
Markets in Japan and London were closed for public holidays.
Trump's warning also hit US stocks, sending Dow futures down about 500 points. The broader S&P 500 was set to open nearly 2% lower, while Nasdaq futures were down 2.4%.
Trump appeared to be reviving an old playbook by threatening to ratchet up tariffs on Beijing in the hopes of applying pressure on China to force negotiators to strike a deal.
Earlier this year, Trump said he was prepared to enact new sanctions and increase existing ones if a deal wasn't struck by March 1, but he then shelved those plans.
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