White House National Trade Council Director Peter Navarro Getty Images

White House trade policy advisor and China hawk Peter Navarro will be attending a crucial meeting between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping this week, a White House official confirmed to CNBC. His addition to the dinner could be seen as a signal to the Chinese that trade hawks are ascendant inside the administration. Word of his attendance sent the Dow Jones Industrial Average briefly to its low of the day. The news was first reported by the South China Morning Post. The newspaper had reported last week that Navarro would not attend the Xi-Trump meeting.

The closely watched dinner during the G-20 summit in Buenos Aires this week should provide some answers in the escalating trade war between Beijing and Washington. The two countries are still in the process of finalizing the list of advisors who will take part in the meeting, the South China Morning Post said. The world's two largest economies have struggled to reach a trade deal and de-escalate tensions that have led to increasing tariffs. Navarro has taken an aggressive stance toward any changes in the U.S. trade relationship with China. Earlier in November, he said a potential deal with China "will be on President Donald J. Trump's terms. Not Wall Street's terms." He added that "there will be a stench around any deal that's consummated" because of Wall Street's involvement. The comments helped drag stocks lower that day. Trump's top economic advisor, Larry Kudlow, disavowed Navarro's comments, telling CNBC "he was not speaking for the president, nor was he speaking for the administration."