Trump: Chinese trade officials coming to US ‘to make a deal’

Washington: Chinese trade officials headed to Washington for talks this week intend to "make a deal," US President Donald Trump said Wednesday, reviving hopes for success in negotiations that had appeared to hang by a thread.

"China has just informed us that they (Vice-Premier) are now coming to the US to make a deal," Trump said on Twitter, referring to top trade envoy Liu He.

"We´ll see but I am very happy with over $100 Billion a year in Tariffs filling US coffers...great for US, not good for China!"

Citing sudden backtracking by the Chinese side after months of negotiations, the White House this week announced US tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese imports would more than double on Friday -- a prospect that had long sent shivers through the global economy. Trump´s tweet suggested he was comfortable either with making a deal or with leaving the tariffs in place, however.

Following the tariffs announcement, stock markets around the world sank for two trading days and Wall Street futures were still in the red. A red wave swept across Asia trading floors Wednesday as investors grew increasingly concerned that the China-US trade deal, which appeared all but ready to sign, could fall through.

"The two largest economic powerhouses, the US and China, either will be at a trade war or a trade peace and in reality there´s only a couple of people who know the answer to that and it isn´t those of us on Wall Street," said Larry Robbins, CEO of Glenview Capital Management.

"It´s to be expected that there´s some volatility into this critical week," he told Bloomberg TV.

Asian markets staged a minor recovery Tuesday following the previous day´s pummelling, which came in response to Trump´s warning. But a blowout on Wall Street continued in Asia, with investors running for the hills.

Shanghai and Hong Kong each tanked more than one percent, with investors also spooked by weaker-than-forecast export data out of Beijing that highlighted the impact of the trade war on China and the global economy.

Tokyo shed 1.5 percent by the close while Sydney and Seoul each fell 0.4 percent. Singapore dropped one percent and Manila was 1.4 percent lower. Taipei, Bangkok, Mumbai and Jakarta also sank.