Mubasher: US President Donald Trump said he will remove duties on Chinese imports, should US and Chinese negotiators manage to hammer out a trade agreement.

Trade talks are going “extremely well” between Washington and Beijing as US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin were in negotiations with Chinese officials this week, President Trump said on Friday.

Progress in the trade negotiations only matters, if both sides reach a deal, Trump said, noting that in this case, “it would be my honour” to scrap the tariffs.

Earlier in the day, US and Chinese officials struck an upbeat tone regarding the trade talks between the world’s two biggest economies.

Chinese President Xi Jinping said that the discussions between both sides yielded a significant progress, announcing that the talks would be resumed next week in Washington.

The US and China are racing to ink a trade agreement before a deadline on 1 March set by the Trump administration, which also threatened to double tariffs on Chinese products, in the event of failing to clinch a deal.