Top trade officials from the US and China will meet in Washington today to negotiate in the hope of defusing an escalating tariff war.<br />''The Chinese delegation will be led by Vice Premier Liu He, a close economic adviser of Mr Xi, and central bank governor Yi Gang. They will meet with the US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and White House trade advisor Peter Navarro.<br />''<br />''Chinese delegation is expected to meet US President Donald Trump at the end of the two-day talks.<br />''<br />''The discussions in Washington will be the first face-to-face cabinet-level discussions with China since  Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in December last year struck a three-month-long truce in their trade war.<br />''<br />''If no deal is reached by March 2, tariffs on 200 billion US dollars of Chinese imports are set to increase from 10 per cent to 25 per cent.<br />''The visit of the Chinese delegation comes after the US Justice Department unveiled charges against Chinese telecoms giant Huawei and its chief financial officer.<br />''<br />''However, US Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross has said the indictments were separate from trade negotiations with China.<br />''Mr Trump has long blamed China's rise as an exporter for a loss of manufacturing and other jobs in the US.<br />''<br />''<span style="color: #222222;">Chinese officials are resistant to the wholesale changes sought by the US and the charges against Huawei.</span><br />