Mnuchin considering trip to China

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Saturday that he could make a trip to China in an effort to ease tensions between Washington and Beijing over proposed tariffs. 

“A trip is under consideration,” Mnuchin told reporters at a press conference in Washington, according to Reuters. “I am not going to make any comment on timing, nor do I have anything confirmed, but a trip is under consideration.”

Mnuchin’s comments came as International Monetary Fund and World Bank officials warned at their spring meetings in Washington that the trade dispute between the U.S. and China could harm global economic expansion. 

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China’s Commerce Ministry said that Beijing would welcome such a trip, according to The Associated Press.

Mnuchin said that progress had been made in resolving the spat between the U.S. and China that emerged after the Trump administration announced a list of $50 billion in Chinese products that could be hit with stiff tariffs.

China responded to the proposed tariffs by threatening duties on U.S. goods. President Trump has also directed the U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to consider tariffs on an additional $100 billion in Chinese products.

Trump has repeatedly accused China of violating international trade norms and stealing U.S. property.

Mnuchin said he was “cautiously optimistic” that Washington and Beijing could soon resolve the dispute, which has roiled international financial markets and sparked concern among American companies that they could be cut off from the world’s second-largest economy.