Trump heads for incredibly awkward face-to-face trade war talks with China after it accused him of 'hysterically persecuting' Huawei

Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP

Chinese President Xi Jinping (far left) and US President Donald Trump (far right) meet on December 1, 2018, in Buenos Aires. Trump will meet a high-level Chinese delegation this week to try and negotiate an end to the trade war.

• The US Department of Justice charged Chinese telecoms giant Huawei, its CFO, and two affiliates with bank and wire fraud, stealing trade secrets, and obstructing justice on Monday.
• It comes as President Donald Trump is scheduled to meet with top Chinese trade negotiators on Wednesday and Thursday to try and resolve ongoing trade war tensions.
• Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said the Huawei charges will not affect trade war tensions.
• But the Chinese government is furious. Experts say the Huawei saga could scupper trade talks.

President Donald Trump is heading for incredibly tense trade talks with China this week, as Beijing's anger at the US for indicting telecommunications giant Huawei and its CFO threatens to derail the two countries' already-strained economic relationship.

Trump is expected to meet top Chinese officials - including Liu He, China's vice premier and top trade negotiator, and People's Bank of China Governor Yi Gang - at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington, DC, on Wednesday and Thursday, in the hope of ending the trade war.

They will address China's policies on intellectual property, technological transfers, and US demands that Beijing buy more American goods and services, Bloomberg reported.

If this round of trade talks fails, the US is due to increase the levy on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods from 10% to 25% on March 2.

Oliver Contreras/Getty; Greg Baker/Getty; Shayanne Gal/Business Insider

If this week's trade talks fail, the US could impose a long-discussed 25% levy on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods.

The fact that Trump will personally attend the meetings shows the importance that the White House is placing on the talks.

US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, and White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow will also take part.

Mnuchin told Fox Business on Monday that he expects "significant progress" from the talks.

But the talks could be derailed by charged from the Department of Justice (DOJ) against Huawei, and against Meng Wanzhou, the company's CFO and daughter of its founder.

China reacted furiously to the charges, which it has characterised as "unfair and immoral."

DOJ officials charged Huawei, Meng, and two affiliates with bank and wire fraud, stealing trade secrets, and obstructing justice in two separate cases announced on Monday.

Read more: US calls Huawei and CFO Meng Wanzhou national-security threats, indicts company and exec on fraud and IP theft charges

REUTERS/Joshua Roberts

Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross (left), Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker (second-left), and FBI Director Christopher Way held a news conference on Monday to announce a series of charges against Huawei, its CFO Meng Wanzhou, and two affiliates.

In one case, the department said Huawei evaded US sanctions on Iran by telling a bank it had no relationship with a company called Skycom. The DOJ says Skycom is in fact controlled by Huawei, and went on to sell more than $100 million in banned technologies to Iran.

In another case, the DOJ accused Huawei of stealing trade secrets from the US, which allegedly involved having an employee pull apart a T-Mobile device-testing robot and stash part of it in his bag.

Huawei also offered bonuses to any employee who stole trade secrets, the Justice Department alleged, citing emails obtained during the investigation.

Read more: Huawei's alleged attempts to copycat a T-Mobile robot read like a comical spy movie

Tappy

The Justice Department accused Huawei of trying to steal T-Mobile's device-testing robot, Tappy, pictured here.

The US indictments come almost two months after Canadian authorities arrested Meng at Washington's request. She was forced to give up her passports and remains in the country. Washington is expected to request Meng's extradition to the US soon.

Beijing has appeared to punish Canada for the arrest - it detained two Canadian men and sentenced another to death in the weeks after Meng's arrest.

Read more: Canada blames US for Huawei CFO arrest backlash that left 2 citizens in Chinese prisons and a 3rd on death row

Wilbur Ross insisted on Monday that the Huawei indictments were "law enforcement actions and are wholly separate from our trade negotiations with China," according to Reuters.

But the Chinese reaction suggests that Beijing is ready to retaliate against the charges, which could come in the way of trade talks.

Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP

Meng arrives at a parole office in Vancouver. She was arrested in Canada at the US' request on December 1, 2018.

Wen Ku, a senior official at the ministry of industry and information technology, told reporters on Tuesday that the indictments were "unfair and immoral," a US attempt to "blacken" Chinese companies "in an attempt to strangle fair and just operations," according to The Guardian.

Yan Shuang, a spokesman for the Chinese foreign ministry, added that there were "strong political attempts and political manipulations" behind the indictments.

Tech companies in China, like Huawei, are legally required to provide data and assistance to the Chinese government.

NICOLAS ASFOURI/AFP/Getty Images

Trump applauds at the end of Xi's speech at an event in Beijing in November 2017. Xi's government is furious at the US for requesting Meng's arrest and for the indictments.

Huawei, which has generally struck a softer tone throughout the saga, said it was "disappointed" by the charges, the BBC reported.

The company also told Business Insider in a Monday statement that it "denies" the charges, and that it "is not aware of any wrongdoing" by Meng. It also said it "believes the US courts will ultimately reach the same conclusion."

Tom Mitchell, the Financial Times' Beijing bureau chief, said Monday's charges "cripple prospects for US-China trade deal."

Jasper Lawler, head of research at London Capital Group, said on Tuesday: "The overriding fear is that this move will negatively impact trade talks, making a deal even less likely."

Drew Angerer/Getty Image; Huawei; Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP

A composite image of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Meng, and Trump. Meng remains in Canada.

"Good always prevails over evil"

The Chinese state-run Global Times tabloid accused the US of "hysterically persecuting" China's tech companies, adding: "Good always prevails over evil, and the Huawei case is no exception."

It also encouraged the Chinese government to "promote negotiation with the US, and try to restrict Washington from treating Huawei unfairly."

The Global Times has continually hit out at the US and Canada over the Huawei case. On Sunday, it suggested that Canada was "[living] the life of a whore" by keeping Meng detained at the request of US officials.