Deal or no deal? That’s the big question as Presidents Trump and Xi prepare for their bilateral meeting. With so much at stake, the world will be watching to see if the leaders of the two biggest economies can end their trade war. 

CGTN’s Frances Kuo takes a look back at how it started, and where things stand today.

In April 2017, U.S. President Donald Trump welcomed Chinese President Xi Jinping to his Mar-a-Lago estate, for a two-day summit in Florida. The leaders discussed trade relations and diplomacy on the Korean peninsula.

In November 2017, President Xi hosted President Trump for a two-day summit in Beijing. Trump praised Xi for peace efforts on the Korean peninsula, and blamed former U.S. administrations for the trade deficit.

In March of this year, Trump announced tariffs on steel and aluminum imports on key allies in Europe and North America, as well as a plan to impose tariffs on $50 billion-worth of goods from China.

Through March and April, Beijing retaliated with its own additional tariffs, prompting global fears of a U.S.-China trade conflict. A series of tit-for-tat tariffs on other products followed from July through September, and the trade war was underway.

The U.S. and China resumed on-again/off again trade contacts in October. Trump and Xi have plans to meet on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Buenos Aires.