UPDATE 1-U.S. President Trump to get update on China trade talks

President Donald Trump will get an update on trade talks with China on Saturday at his Florida retreat, after U.S.-Chinese discussions in Beijing saw progress ahead of a looming March 1 deadline for reaching a deal. White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said Trump would meet members of his trade team at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida on Saturday afternoon.

Joining Trump in person will be U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney and trade expert Peter Navarro, said Sanders. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, economic adviser Larry Kudlow and other aides will join by phone. At a White House press conference on Friday, Trump said he may extend the March 1 deadline and keep tariffs on Chinese goods from rising.

U.S. duties on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports are set to rise to 25 percent from 10 percent if no deal is reached by March 1 to address U.S. demands that China curb forced technology transfers and better enforce intellectual property rights. Both the United States and China reported progress in five days of negotiations in Beijing this week but the White House said much work remains to be done to force changes in Chinese trade behavior.

Trump said on Friday the United States was closer than ever before to “having a real trade deal” with China but that the talks were “very complicated.” China’s Vice Premier and chief trade negotiator Liu He and Lighthizer are to lead the next round of talks this coming week in Washington. (Reporting by Steve Holland in Palm Beach, Florida Editing by Michelle Price and James Dalgleish)