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China Hawk Navarro Is Part of Trump Entourage at G-20 Summit

China Hawk Navarro Is Part of Trump Entourage at G-20 Summit

(Bloomberg) -- White House trade adviser and noted China hawk Peter Navarro traveled with President Donald Trump to the Group of 20 summit in Argentina, where the U.S. leader will meet his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping to discuss the trade war between the two countries.

Navarro was seen exiting Air Force One after landing in Buenos Aires on Thursday evening, as the U.S. delegation prepares for two days of meetings with world leaders including Xi, who will have dinner with Trump on Saturday.

China Hawk Navarro Is Part of Trump Entourage at G-20 Summit

An economist who co-wrote a book titled “Death by China,” Navarro is known for favoring a tougher stance with Beijing over trade. He has been a proponent of imposing U.S. tariffs on billions of dollars in Chinese imports in response to long-standing Trump administration complaints about intellectual property theft and forced transfers of technology.

Navarro’s role in the talks has been closely watched in China, with newspapers such as the South China Morning Post viewing his presence as an indicator of whether Trump and Xi can reach a deal. He has taken a harder line on China than others in the Trump administration, criticizing Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin in May for declaring a pause to the trade war and this month warning Wall Street bankers to stop pushing Trump for a quick deal with Xi.

Trump has imposed duties on $250 billion in Chinese imports in recent months. A 10 percent tariff on $200 billion of those goods is due to rise to 25 percent on Jan. 1. He has also threatened to impose tariffs on the remaining $267 billion worth of Chinese products imported last year.

To contact the reporter on this story: Saleha Mohsin in Buenos Aires at smohsin2@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Michael Shepard at mshepard7@bloomberg.net, Mike Dorning

©2018 Bloomberg L.P.