U.S. President Donald Trump's negotiators are set to meet Chinese trade officials this week in an attempt to hash out a trade deal.

The president on Wednesday announced that Chinese Vice Premier Liu He will be leading a team of officials to Washington. Trump implied that Beijing's delegation will be aiming to ink an agreement because it's suffering under the weight of U.S. levies, tweeting that the White House is "very happy with over $100 Billion a year in Tariffs filling U.S. coffers," which is "great for U.S., not good for China."

Donald J. Trump tweet: "....Guess what, that's not going to happen! China has just informed us that they (Vice-Premier) are now coming to the U.S. to make a deal. We'll see, but I am very happy with over $100 Billion a year in Tariffs filling U.S. coffers...great for U.S., not good for China!"

However, according to former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, any assumption in Washington that Beijing is "economically desperate" for a deal is not "well placed."

"The Chinese have applied a whole bunch of stimulus measures, growth has been restored, including some tax advantages for the private sector. China is approaching these negotiations as of May 2019 in a considerably stronger economic position" than it had six months ago, said Rudd, who is now the president of the New York-based Asia Society Policy Institute.

Rudd told CNBC's "Squawk Box Asia" that Chinese media is emphasizing "time and time again" that the Asian giant's economy is "resilient."

"There's some preparation in social media for the possibility of the Chinese economy continuing even in the absence of a trade deal. So what I sense here is a movement of low-level defiance," Rudd said.

The ongoing U.S.-China trade talks appeared to turn sour when Trump on Sunday threatened to hike U.S. sanctions on some Chinese goods to 25% from 10% if an agreement is not reached by Friday. Another round of fresh levies would "shortly" follow, he added.

At a Florida rally on Wednesday, Trump said his recent threat to increase tariffs comes because Beijing "broke the deal" in trade talks with Washington.

Rudd, for his part, said the "drama of the last several days" seems to be along the lines of an "American frustration" that Beijing's negotiating text "does not include a reference to China incorporating the proposed changes in the bilateral agreement into Chinese law."