US-China trade talks in 'quiet period'

WASHINGTON: The United States is in a "quiet period" with China over trade negotiations, White House adviser Peter Navarro said in an interview on CNBC on Friday, adding that in-person talks would start soon in China.

US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin will travel to Beijing "in the very near future," Navarro said. Overall, Lighthizer will take the lead on negotiations along with Republican US President Donald Trump, he added.

"We are, in my judgment, in a quiet period ... toward negotiations," Navarro told the television network, noting that US and Chinese negotiators spoke recently by phone.

Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping last month agreed to another truce in the year-long trade spat between the world's two largest economies. That agreement, after their meeting in Osaka, Japan, kickstarted stalled negotiations, but no deadline has been set for the process to conclude.

Asked when he thought a deal would be signed, Navarro declined to comment but said any announcements would come from Lighthizer or Trump.