US, China trade talks to resume amid low expectations

It is trade talk Wednesday in Washington, D.C.

U.S. and Chinese officials are scheduled to resume trade talks, even as President Trump expects no real progress.

The latest round comes as each country prepares to hit the other with new tariffs on Thursday in a deepening dispute over China's economic policies.

Trump has threatened to impose duties on virtually all of the more than $500 billion of Chinese goods exported to the United States unless it meets his demands, according to Reuters.

The two days of meetings are the first formal U.S.-China trade talks since U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross met Chinese economic adviser Liu He in Beijing in June.

After negotiations in May, Beijing believed it had assurances from the U.S. that tariffs were off the table. But the White House moved ahead with more duties.

Trump told Reuters on Monday that he did not "anticipate much". In an interview, he said resolving the trade dispute will "take time because China's done too well for too long, and they've become spoiled."

The discussions this week were expected to do little to stop the scheduled activation of 25 percent U.S. tariffs on another $16 billion in Chinese goods scheduled to take effect on Thursday at 12:01 a.m. EDT.

China is expected to retaliate with tariffs on $16 billion of U.S. goods.

The tit-for-tat action could then trigger a second $200 billion to $300 billion list of Chinese goods to be targeted with tariffs.