A new round of trade talks between the U.S. and China begins in Beijing this week, with both sides hoping to reach a trade deal by the end of this month.
For more on this and other news around the world let's turn to our Ro Aram…
Aram… what can we expect?
Well Mark… Working-level talks will kick off later today.
Higher principal-level talks will take place Thursday and Friday with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.
Investors will be looking to see if both sides can hammer out a trade deal before a March 1st deadline to avert higher U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods.
However, prospects are not looking good.
Lighthizer said recently that it's not certain a pact could be reached.
President Trump has also said he's unlikely to meet President Xi Jinping before the deadline, dampening hopes of a speedy resolution to their trade war.
If a deal is not reached by the beginning of next month then Washington is set to more than double tariffs on 200 billion dollars-worth of Chinese imports.
U.S. officials have said March 1st is a hard deadline, but Trump has suggested a possible extension if progress was being made.
There are still many sticking points to iron out during this week's talks.
U.S. negotiators will likely continue to urge China to make structural reforms and end what the U.S. claims to be unfair trade practices.
These include accusations of intellectual property theft and forcing American companies to share their technology with Chinese firms.
Beijing denies it engages in such practices.
