UPDATE | US, China extend trade talks

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. and Chinese negotiators agreed today to extend high-level trade talks through the weekend, and President Donald Trump said he hoped to meet next month at his Florida resort with President Xi Jinping to try to finalize an agreement.

The news followed two days of negotiations in Washington aimed at resolving a trade war that has rattled financial markets and threatened global economic growth.

"We're making a lot of progress," Trump told reporters at the White House. "I think there's a very good chance that a deal can be made."

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the negotiations, which had been scheduled to conclude Friday afternoon, would continue through Sunday. The Chinese delegation is led by Xi's special envoy, Vice Premier Liu He, the American team by Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer.

Trump had originally warned that he would escalate the tariffs he has imposed on $200 billion in Chinese imports, from 10 to 25 percent, if the two sides failed to reach a deal by March 2. But in recent days, and again today, he raised the possibility of extending that deadline if negotiators were nearing an agreement.

The world's two biggest economies are sparring over U.S. allegations that Beijing uses predatory tactics in a drive to make Chinese companies world leaders in advanced industries such as robotics and driverless cars.

Those tactics, the Trump administration argues, include cyber-theft, unfair subsidies for state-owned Chinese companies, the use of regulations to hobble China's foreign competitors and pressure on American companies to hand over technology in exchange for access to the Chinese market.

3:42 p.m.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump says he will consider delaying a March 2 deadline to reach a trade deal with Beijing before he would escalate his tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese imports.

Trump told reporters he would "certainly consider" an extension if trade talks are going well. He said that talks between China and the United States in Washington will be extended through this weekend to give the countries more time to reach a breakthrough in their trade dispute.

The two economic powers are engaged in a standoff that has worried financial markets and likely weakened the global economy.

A Chinese team led by Vice Premier Liu He has been meeting with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and other American officials.

The U.S. has imposed 25 percent tariffs on $50 billion in Chinese imports and 10 percent tariffs on $200 billion worth. The tariffs on the $200 billion are scheduled to rise to 25 percent if there's no deal.