This Wednesday, China expressed confidence it could reach a trade deal with the United States, despite fresh warnings from president Trump that he would revert to more tariffs if the two sides cannot resolve their differences.

The remarks by the Chinese Commerce Ministry follow a period of relative quiet from Beijing after Mr Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping reached a temporary truce in their trade war at a meeting over dinner in Argentina on Saturday.

The ministry stated that China would try to work quickly to implement specific issues already agreed upon, as both sides "actively promote the work of negotiations within 90 days in accordance with a clear timetable and road map".

Trump, via Twitter, held out the possibility of an extension of the cease-fire but warned tariffs would be back on the table if the talks failed to bear fruit. "The negotiations with China have already started. Unless extended, they will end 90 days from the date of our wonderful and very warm dinner with President Xi in Argentina," Trump tweeted.

He said he would place "major tariffs" on Chinese goods imported into the US if his administration is unable to reach an effective trade deal with Beijing: "We are either going to have a real deal with China, or no deal at all - at which point we will be charging major tariffs against Chinese product being shipped into the United States. Ultimately, I believe, we will be making a deal - either now or into the future," Mr Trump wrote in a post within minutes of the Commerce Ministry statement.