Top economic aide is said to plan US trip amid trade row

President Xi Jinping’s top economic adviser Liu He will head to the U.S. this week in a sign of an expanded role managing the mounting trade tensions between the governments in Beijing and Washington, said a person familiar with the matter.

As President Donald Trump considers harsh tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from China, Liu’s visit could mean yet another mandate for the Harvard-educated adviser whose understanding of the U.S. and ties to local business leaders could help ease friction between the governments.

Expected to be appointed vice premier in charge of financial policy by the National People’s Congress next month, Liu, 66, also has been named by analysts as a possible candidate to head China’s central bank.

Liu is scheduled to arrive in Washington on Tuesday, said the person who asked not to be identified because the trip hasn’t been announced. He will be the second member of the powerful 25-member Politburo to travel to the U.S. this month.

China’s top diplomat Yang Jiechi visited earlier in February, an indication of how much attention China is giving to ties with the U.S. as the rhetoric out of Washington becomes more pointed.

Earlier this month, China’s ambassador to Washington warned the Trump administration against adopting a confrontational approach toward China. In December, Trump called Russia and China “rival powers” when he unveiled his first national security strategy.

Liu’s U.S. visit, which was reported earlier by Axios, will come a day after a planned meeting of the Communist Party’s Central Committee starts in Beijing, and before legislators gather early next month to approve new government leaders. Bloomberg