U.S. officials sought to play down expectations for a highly-anticipated meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and China's Xi Jinping this week, insisting the U.S. wasn't prepared to compromise on its demands for meaningful Chinese economic reforms.
The two leaders are set to meet on the sidelines of the Group of 20 leaders meeting in Osaka with senior U.S. officials telling reporters Monday the encounter was likely to take place Saturday.
The scheduling of the meeting, which came after a call between the two leaders last week, has raised hopes that they might be able to put trade talks that broke down last month back on track. Trump has threatened to impose tariffs on a further $300 billion in Chinese products including smartphones, laptops and children's clothing if he doesn't see any progress in a move that would sharply escalate the trade war.