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.

President Donald Trump said he would not consider lowering the United States' 145% tariffs on China in order to spur trade-war negotiations with Beijing. Trump flatly answered "no" when asked at the White House if he was open to pulling back on the steep import duties in order to get China to the negotiating table.

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