WASHINGTON, April 4 — The White House is not expected to announce a date today for a trade summit between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, a senior administration official said, as negotiators for the two sides launch another day of talks.

China and the United States are in the middle of intense negotiations to end a months-long trade war that has rattled global markets.

After meetings in Beijing last week, US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin are holding talks with a Chinese delegation in Washington this week.

Trump is slated to meet with China’s top trade negotiator, Liu He, at 4.30pm (2030 GMT) at the White House. The Wall Street Journal and the New York Times reported that he was expected to announce a date for a summit at that time, but a senior administration official told Reuters that was incorrect.

"The White House is not expected to announce a date for a meeting,” the official said.

Trump administration officials have cited progress in the talks on tricky aspects, including reforming practices that Washington objects to by Beijing such as the intellectual property theft and forced transfer of technology from US companies doing business in China.

Hopes that the talks were moving in a positive direction have cheered investors.

Administration officials initially envisioned a summit between Trump and Xi potentially taking place in March, but that period passed while talks continued.

How to enforce a deal as well as when and whether to lift tariffs on billions of dollars of goods have been sticking points in what appear to be the final stages of the talks. — Reuters