Wilbur Ross, US commerce secretary, has warned that a trade deal with China was “miles and miles” away, highlighting the large gap that still exists between Washington and Beijing as they seek to avoid a new escalation in tariffs in early March.
The remarks from Mr Ross were made on Thursday ahead of a key negotiating session scheduled for next week that could be pivotal to the chances of an agreement.
Liu He, China’s top economic official, is leading a delegation of officials to Washington for negotiations with Robert Lighthizer, the US trade representative, and Steven Mnuchin, the US Treasury secretary, in the highest-level face-to-face meetings since early December.