China is lowering its expectations ahead of the next round of trade talks with the United States and may even cut short its trip to Washington, the South China Morning Post reported on Tuesday.
According to a source with knowledge of the matter, "the original plan was to leave Washington on [October] 12th, but the departure could be moved ahead to the 11th" as "there’s not much optimism" on the Chinese side.
Furthermore, China’s top trade negotiator Liu He has been stripped of the title of "special envoy," as was the case during his previous visit, indicating he may have limited powers to agree to concessions during talks with US officials.
A series of events this week already dampened hopes of the two countries reaching a breakthrough in discussions.
