Washington (AFP)

Donald Trump posted his optimism Friday on the second day of trade negotiations with China in the US capital, saying the atmosphere between delegations was "warmer" after months of stalemate.

"Good things are happening in trade talks with China," the Republican president tweeted.

He added that the atmosphere looked more like "the good old days", probably referring to last spring when the two sides appeared to be about to reach an agreement before Mr. Trump torpedoed the talks, claiming that China had returned on his promises.

"Everyone would like to see something important happen," the president wrote a few hours before he met in person with Deputy Prime Minister Liu He, who heads the Chinese delegation.

Liu He and his US counterpart Robert Lighthizer, as well as Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin were all smiles, greeting each other with pats on their backs and shaking hands in front of the cameras, before resuming their discussions for the second consecutive day at the headquarters of Mr. Lighthizer's services, just a few dozen meters from the White House.

The meeting between the US president and the head of the Chinese delegation is scheduled for the afternoon (18:45 GMT) at the White House.

For now, it is announced to be in camera. But Mr. Trump has not hesitated in the past to call the press to report progress himself.

The US president repeated it last week, only two people count on this issue, where rumors abound and information is lacking on the state of negotiations: he and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

- Truce? -

Politically, Donald Trump is under pressure like never since he entered the White House: Democrats have launched a process of impeachment, which seems supported by voters, according to several polls.

And the president's green light given to Turkey to launch an anti-Kurdish operation in Syria has earned him very virulent criticism even among his close supporters.

Nothing concrete has filtered for the time of the previous day's discussions, but the tweet of the president has come again to comfort the observers and the stock markets, that an agreement, at least partial, could be announced as of Friday.

Thursday, the head of international affairs of the American Chamber of Commerce, Myron Brilliant, has fueled the hopes, saying "convinced" that there would be an agreement on foreign exchange and a suspension of the increase in tariffs scheduled for October 15 by the United States.

The English-language government daily China Daily agrees: "A partial agreement is a more realistic goal, and one that is in the interest of both parties," reads its Friday edition.

"Not only would this have the concrete benefit of ending the stalemate (of the trade war), but it would also give room for both sides to think about a broader vision than simply knowing what would please 'other', the newspaper continues.

These negotiations are taking place while tariffs must pass Tuesday from 25 to 30% on 250 billion Chinese goods.

For the moment, Beijing has accepted some concessions, such as the purchase of US agricultural products, fueling the speculations of a partial agreement.

But so far, Donald Trump had insisted he wanted "a big deal" and "a good deal" if nothing else.

There are many disputes: Washington is demanding not only a greater opening of the Chinese market but also the end of commercial practices deemed "unfair", such as forced technology transfer or subsidies to Chinese companies.

The trade war triggered by Donald Trump for more than 18 months, to force China to put an end to economic practices deemed unfair is affecting the entire global economy.

© 2019 AFP