U.S. President Donald Trump welcomed Beijing's top trade negotiator to Washington on Thursday for trade talks between the world's two largest economies, as market-rattling tariff threats and warnings about counter-measures continue to smoulder.

Ahead of the talks, there were sharp swings in global financial markets, with the Dow Jones dropping more than 400 points on Tuesday after Trump issued a threat via Twitter that he would hike tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods to 25 per cent from 10 per cent — which he did on Wednesday. He also threatened more to come "shortly."

Beijing has promised to respond "in kind." And consumers around the world, including in Canada, should expect to pay more for goods the longer the ongoing trade war lasts. 

All of which is making for an unpredictable negotiation over the next two days. 

CBC explains the ins and outs of the U.S.-China trade war...

This was excerpted from the 9 May 2019 edition of CBC News.