Market News & Headlines >> U.S., China Aim for May Trade Deal

Senior U.S. and Chinese officials are scheduling more face-to-face trade talks in an effort to reach a deal by early-May that President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping could sign later that month, two people familiar with the plans told Bloomberg News on Wednesday.

U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin plan to travel to Beijing the week of April 29, according to the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations.

The next week Chinese Vice Premier Liu He will come to Washington for negotiations. During his visit, officials want to announce the sides have struck a deal and details of a signing summit, probably set for late May, they said.

A spokeswoman for Lighthizer declined to comment on the trip.

Separately, the Wall Street Journal also reported that two more rounds of face-to-face negotiations were scheduled, and said officials were planning on a signing ceremony in late May or early June, according to unnamed people familiar with the situation.