Donald Trump has repeatedly urged Xi Jinping to call him for discussions about a potential trade deal. But any off-ramp to the economic tensions will likely run through Vice Premier He Lifeng, who is Xi's Sino-American trade tsar.

Beijing is confident of hitting its 5% economic growth target this year despite the U.S. and China imposing hefty levies on each other’s exports.

Fears of pandemic-era shortages at American stores have made a big comeback as shipping-container traffic between China and the U.S. plunged in the wake of President Trump’s tariffs.