WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump wants to reach an agreement with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping at the G20 summit in Argentina later this month to resolve what has been described as a trade war between the two countries, US sources said.
Informed sources said Trump had asked officials to begin preparing possible terms for the deal, adding that the trend to reach a possible deal with China was reinforced by a telephone conversation with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday.
Trump and Shi expressed optimism that a solution to their bitter trade disputes would be resolved before their meeting in late November in Argentina.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kangbom said on Friday that the two leaders agreed to "promote economic exchanges" during a "very positive" conversation.
Lu said the two leaders agreed that the trade dispute "must be properly addressed through substantive consultations."
This comes after a tweak of the US president on Twitter so that he and Shi have had a "very good" conversation.
Trump had imposed customs duties of up to 25 percent on Chinese goods worth 250 billion dollars in a dispute over Beijing's plans to develop state-led industries.
Washington, Europe and other trading partners say the plans violate China's commitment to market openness, and some US officials fear it could erode US industrial leadership.
