Trump says that the trade talks in China are going very well
President Donald Trump gave an optimistic reading of Thursday's US-China trade talks as the world's two largest economies try to end a damaging trade war.
"I think it's going very well. I want to say, I think it's going very well," the president said before leaving Washington for a campaign election in Minnesota. "So we had a very, very good negotiation with China. They'll talk a little later, but they basically pack up and we'll see them tomorrow right here."
While Trump was speaking at 4:30 pm. ET, today's discussions ended when dealers were to sit down for dinner.
The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust, designed to track the S&P 500 index, stepped in after hours of trading following Trump's comments. US futures trading opens at ET.
President Donald J. Trump moves from Marine One to the Oval Office when he returns to South Lawn at the White House in Washington, DC.
Jabin Botsford | The Washington Post | Getty Images
The two sides resumed talks in Washington after a week of growing tension. Washington and Beijing hope to put an end to a conflict of hundreds of billions of dollars in goods.
Discussions come just days before an October 15 deadline when the United States plans to pay at least $ 250 billion in Chinese goods to 30% from 25%.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and United States Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer helped the team with US dealers during Thursday's discussions. Chinese Deputy Prime Minister Liu Han led the Beijing delegation.
When Mnuchin left the talks on Thursday just before 4 pm. ET, CNBC asked how the discussions were going. He just smiled. Liu left the talks about an hour after the U.S. Treasury Secretary.
Earlier in the day, Trump said he planned to meet Liu at the White House on Friday. His tweet increased the optimism surrounding the talks, as some reports had said the Chinese team could leave after Thursday's discussions.
Tensions between the world's two largest economies increased in the days leading up to the discussions. The United States first blacklisted 28 Chinese units allegedly involved in the detention and surveillance of Muslim minorities in the Xinjiang region, with an estimated 1.5 million people being held in camps. The Trump administration then imposed visa restrictions on officials allegedly involved in the practice of human rights groups have called abuse.
However, Liu made a positive comment in the talks on Thursday.
"The Chinese side has come with great sincerity and is willing to make serious exchanges with the United States on issues of common concern such as trade balance, market access and investor protection, and promote positive progress in the consultations," Liu told Chinese state media agency Xinhua .
Trump has pushed for China to end what he calls trade abuse, including theft of property and the forced transfer of technology. He also aims to get China to increase its purchases of US agricultural products, in part to increase US farmers trapped in the fire from the trade conflict.
The president ran for office in 2016 for breaking down China to help American manufacturing workers hurt by free trade.
– CNBC's Stephanie Dhue contributed to this report
