China's top trade negotiator is headed to Washington for two days starting on Thursday.
Chinese Vice Premier Liu He and his team are flying there despite President Trump's decision to impose new tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars' worth of Chinese goods from Friday.
Lee Seung-jae has more.
Despite the atmosphere surrounding the trade talks shifting dramatically in the space of a week,... the Chinese delegation led by Vice Premier Liu He, one the country's leading economic policymakers, is heading to Washington for another round of trade negotiations.
China's Commerce Ministry announced on Tuesday that the Chinese delegation will hold talks with their American counterparts on Thursday and Friday.
The trip comes in the wake of President Trump's announcement on Sunday that he would raise U.S. tariffs on Friday to 25-percent from the previous 10-percent for 200-billion dollars' worth of Chinese goods.
Caught off guard,.. the Chinese delegation were initially uncertain whether Liu should travel to Washington.
However, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has said that, if the Chinese trade delegation brings a new proposal with them on Thursday,... the U.S. delegation will review it and pass it to President Trump.
U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer says the administration's current plan is still to hike tariffs at 12:01AM Friday Washington time.
Experts say the next round of trade talks will be crucial,... as it will either end the trade war,... or escalate it even further with more tit-for-tat tariffs.
Lee Seung-jae, Arirang News.