China trade deal still likely despite Trump's threats, says expert 4:38 PM ET Mon, 6 May 2019

A delegation of Chinese negotiators set to visit Washington, D.C., on Thursday and Friday is expected to include Chinese Vice Premier Liu He, CNBC reported. Liu's presence offers a positive sign for market watchers, many of whom considered it more likely that Trump would follow through on his newest threat of tariffs if the vice premier did not attend.

While the president's protectionist moves have scared some businesses, farmers and lawmakers, Trump has some progress to show from his year of trade maneuvers. Last fall, he agreed to revise the North American Free Trade Agreement with Mexico and Canada.

The stock market has posted major gains in 2019, in part due to optimism that trade talks with China will achieve a deal that will reverse the steep tariffs imposed by both sides. But global markets sold off sharply Monday on Trump's latest threat to boost tariffs further.

The U.S. imports goods from China totaling $539.5 billion and the U.S. trade deficit stood at $419.2 billion in 2018, according to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. If Trump follows through with his threats, virtually all goods imported from China to the U.S. would face some sort of tariff.

Here is a timeline of the U.S.-China trade conflict since the Trump administration embarked on a trade warn between the world's two largest economies: