Before high-level U.S. and Chinese officials hold talks in Switzerland this weekend to discuss high tariffs, Washington and Beijing have been in a rhetorical duel over which side reached out first.

Beijing says it will meet with American officials to discuss trade, but warned Washington against using the engagement to ratchet up pressure on China.

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday that an 80% tariff on Chinese goods "seems right," making his first suggestion of a specific alternative to the 145% levies he has imposed on Chinese imports ahead of weekend talks to contain a trade war between the world's two biggest economies.

Shipments to the U.S. sank 21% in dollar terms as Trump’s tariffs on most Chinese exports rose to as high as 145%. With Chinese tariffs on U.S. goods at 125%, business between the two biggest economies has grown increasingly uncertain.

China's exports topped forecasts in April, buoyed by demand for materials from overseas manufacturers who rushed out goods to make the most of U.S. President Donald Trump's 90-day tariff pause. The fortunes of trade-reliant businesses on both sides of the Pacific now hinge on talks between China and the U.

China’s exports grew by just 8.1% in April, a big drop from the previous month after Donald Trump’s triple-digit tariffs took effect, in another sign of the damage the US president’s trade war is causing the world’s two largest economies.