(Bloomberg) -- China is sending a key trade negotiator to the US, a move that signals talks are progressing after President Donald Trump extended a tariff truce earlier this month.

Vice Commerce Minister Li Chenggang will travel to Washington this week to meet with US officials and business people, according to a person familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified because the trip hasn’t been formally announced. Li is expected to be there at least Thursday and Friday, the person added on Tuesday.

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The trip wasn’t part of a formal negotiating session, a spokesperson for the US government told Bloomberg News. The trip was first reported by the Wall Street Journal, which says Li will meet with deputies of US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Treasury Department officials.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun avoided a question about Li’s trip when asked at a regular press briefing in Beijing. Li visited Canada on Monday, the Commerce Ministry in Beijing said in a statement.

The US Embassy in Beijing didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

The trade fight between the world’s two biggest economies has been in a period of calm since earlier this month when Trump extended a pause on higher tariffs on Chinese goods for another 90 days. Beijing followed the move with its own suspension.

The pause has given the countries more time to discuss other issues such as duties tied to fentanyl trafficking that Trump has levied on Beijing, US concerns about Chinese purchases of sanctioned Russian and Iranian oil, and disagreements over American business operations in China.

Beijing sending Li to the US is “a bullish sign for a deal that will unlock a summit” between Trump and President Xi Jinping, said Jeremy Chan, a senior analyst on the China and Northeast Asia team at Eurasia Group, who once worked as a diplomat in China and Japan.

Trump has repeatedly said he wants to meet Xi, most recently adding that “probably during this year or shortly thereafter, we’ll go to China.” Earlier this month, he said the meeting would only happen if it is part of efforts to conclude trade negotiations. “If we don’t make a deal, I’m not going to have a meeting,” he said.

Wu Xinbo, director at Fudan University’s Center for American Studies in Shanghai, said he’s worried about the pace of talks ahead of a possible leaders’ summit this fall.

“Given the lack of progress in bilateral relations — not just in trade and economic areas but in other areas as well — both sides should work much harder if they want to turn this event a successful one,” Wu said.

The talking points for US and Chinese officials remain wide-ranging. Trump has pushed China to sharply increase soybean imports, and flagged airplane parts as a key item that Washington has at its disposal to counter Beijing’s restrictions on rare earths.

Other issues loom large, including the treatment of Chinese students at US entry points. China’s embassy in the US on Monday urged students to be cautious when entering via Houston, alleging “unwarranted interrogation and harassment” by customs officers.

Trump has also said he brought up the case of former Hong Kong media mogul Jimmy Lai with China. Lai is now in the final stages of his national security trial in Hong Kong.

--With assistance from Jing Li.

(Updates with more details.)

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