(photo: AFP)

US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin are meeting with China’s Deputy Prime Minister Liu He, seeking to build on progress made in Washington last month.

Pressure to seal an accord ahead of a March 1 deadline set by US President Donald Trump appears to have eased slightly after the US president indicated he was open to extending a trade truce depending on progress in Beijing. Trump is considering to postpone plans to sharply hike tariffs on US$200 billion of Chinese imports to allow more time for negotiation.