Beijing Confirms Liu He Will Head To Washington

China confirmed on Tuesday that top trade negotiator Liu He will visit the United States for a new round of talks this week despite a US pledge to go ahead with a tariff hike.

The commerce ministry said in a statement that Liu will be in the US on Thursday and Friday for the 11th round of high-level negotiations.

It said he would meet his American counterparts, Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.

The one-sentence statement gave no indication whether other details such as the size of China's delegation might change.

The talks had originally been expected to begin on Wednesday and China had not confirmed whether Liu would still travel to Washington after President Donald Trump said he would hike tariffs on US$200 billion worth of Chinese goods on Friday.

The decision to go ahead with high-level negotiations left open the possibility the two sides still might reach significant agreements this week.

Trump's announcement on Sunday that he would increase tariffs on US$200 billion of Chinese imports caused global stock markets to plunge. (AFP, AP)