FILE PHOTO - Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond speaks at the launch of a report, by living standards think tank the Resolution Foundation, on the impact of the higher minimum wage at the Resolution Foundation offices in London, Britain May 30, 2019. Jonathan Brady/Pool via REUTERS

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain hopes that U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping can make progress on easing trade tensions when they meet later this month at a summit of world leaders in Japan, British finance minister Philip Hammond said.

“Britain is a very open, trading economy. We are very vulnerable to anything that impacts on global trade and global economic growth, so we very much hope for an early solution to the tensions between the U.S. and China,” Hammond said.

“We are confident that a solution can be found,” he said in response to a question at a news conference after meeting Chinese Vice Premier Hu Chunhua on Monday for talks on economic and financial ties between Britain and China.