Trump says Xi Jinping will visit White House soon

Washington, April 26 (IANS) US President Donald Trump has said that his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, would be coming to the White House soon, fuelling anticipation that the worlds two largest economies may be close to completing a trade deal.

Trump, in remarks on Thursday to White House staff, parents and children gathered on the lawn for Take Your Children to Work Day, did not indicate when the meeting might take place or what would be on the agenda, reports The New York Times.

The President also mentioned Xi as he marvelled at the history of the White House.

"The White House is a place of history. 1799... That's a long time. Now when President Xi comes from China, and I say 1799, he thinks that's a modern house because their culture is very old - 5,000 years.

"But this is really something that no matter where you go, no matter the time, no matter the date, there is nothing like our great White House," Trump said.

His comments come the White House announced this week that Robert E. Lighthizer, the top trade negotiator, and Steven Mnuchin, the Treasury secretary, would travel to Beijing on Sunday for further negotiations that begin on April 30.

Their Chinese counterpart, the Vice Premier Liu He, would return to the US for talks that start on May 8.

For months, Trump's trade advisers have been jetting between Washington and Beijing as they try to resolve a trade war that has begun to inflict economic damage on both sides of the Pacific.

The deal is likely to include provisions that would improve intellectual property protections, require China to buy more American goods and prevent Beijing from forcing American companies to transfer technology to Chinese partners as a condition of doing business there.