U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday he expects there to be substantive negotiations between the United States and China on trade this weekend and predicted that punitive U.S. tariffs on Beijing of 145% would likely come down.

In response to President Donald Trump's assertions, China maintains that its economy remains robust despite the impact of U.S. tariffs.

China is facing the steepest tariff rate from Trump’s administration. While other countries were granted a 90-day reprieve from so-called reciprocal tariffs last month, excluding a baseline 10% flat rate, the president raised China’s tariff rate to 145%.