One of Xi Jinping’s top economic advisers will be coming to Washington on Tuesday bearing promises of accelerating economic reforms in an effort to forestall a possible trade war with the US.
But Liu He, a politburo member who is set to assume responsibility for economic affairs next month, is likely to meet a frosty reception from a Trump administration preparing for a trade crackdown on China and increasingly sceptical of the value of economic dialogue with Beijing.
Mr Liu took a similar reform message to the World Economic Forum in Davos earlier this year at which he promised a series of “reform and opening surprises” that would exceed “international expectations”.