According to The Australian, the Trump administration has invited Chinese officials to restart trade talks.
Larry Kudlow, head of White House Economic Council, told Fox Business Network that US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin had sent an invitation to senior Chinese officials.
"There's some discussions and information that we received that the Chinese government - the top of the Chinese government wished to pursue talks," Kudlow said. "And so, Secretary Mnuchin, who is the team leader with China, has apparently issued an invitation."
Mnuchin's invitation was sent to his Chinese counterparts, including the top economic adviser to Chinese President Xi Jinping, Vice Premier Liu He.
The invitation comes amid a swelling chorus of opposition to tariffs from Western business circles.
On Thursday, the US business lobbies AmCham China and AmCham Shanghai published a joint survey showing the negative impact of tariffs imposed by Washington and Beijing on US companies in China.
Kudlow earlier told the media that communications with Beijing had "picked up a notch."
Asked if the Trump administration would like to have additional trade talks with China, Kudlow said: "If they come to the table in a serious way to generate some positive results, yes, of course. That's what we've been asking for months and months."
