resumption of negotiations between China and the United States in a peaceful climate

Trade negotiations between China and the United States resume in a calm climate despite the recent imposition of new tariffs, said Friday the economic adviser to the White House, however, refusing to predict the outcome of the next dealings.

A meeting between Chinese and American negotiators has been scheduled for "early October" in Washington and "it's a positive development," Larry Kudlow told CNBC, as the two sides struggle to break out of the trade war that has been fought a year and a half.

"I can not predict the outcome of these new discussions," he insisted, drawing lessons from past rounds of bargaining, all of which failed to translate into an agreement.

"I'm just saying it's a good thing that they come and that the spirits are calmer," he said. "We are now engaged in a very important discussion at all levels, from agriculture and intellectual property to technology transfer or hacking or trade barriers."

"Discussions are taking place, it's good for everyone!", President Donald Trump said in a tweet, while believing that it was Beijing who was paying for the trade war.

"China is eating customs tariffs," he wrote, repeating that, according to him, "billions of dollars flocked to the United States" while "China has had its worst year in decades".

Washington and Beijing were on the verge of signing a trade agreement in early May when talks stalled, China returning to all its commitments, according to the United States.

Tensions have since intensified with the entry into force of tariffs reinforced by successive waves, the latest of which was on 1 September.

By the end of the year, Donald Trump plans to overtax almost all imports from China (some $ 540 billion based on 2018 imports).

Economists warn of the trade war that slows global growth. The IMF has also recently underlined the impact on the Chinese economy.

However, Larry Kudlow said that reaching an agreement with China could take years, since the main thing was to solve fund problems – commercial practices deemed unfair – in parallel with the Cold War.

"The stakes are such that we have to carry out these negotiations, if it takes a decade, and it will take a decade," he told reporters.

During the Cold War, "it took decades and decades to achieve what we wanted with the former Soviet Union," he added.