Chinese and U.S. negotiators are reportedly working on a plan to hold talks to end a trade dispute that would result in meetings between President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping at a summit in November, according to Dow Jones.

A nine-member delegation from Beijing, led by Vice Commerce Minister Wang Shouwen, will hold meetings with U.S. officials led by the Treasury undersecretary, David Malpass, on Aug. 22 and Aug. 23, the report said, citing officials from both countries.

On Thursday, the two governments announced lower-level trade talks this month aimed at resolving an escalating tariff war that threatens to engulf all trade between the world’s two largest economies.

The world’s two largest economies have been locked in escalating rounds of tit-for-tat tariffs, with $34 billion in goods targeted by each country and another $16 billion slated to go into effect on Aug. 23. Trump has threatened to impose duties on virtually all of the more than $500 billion of Chinese goods exported to the United States.

Though China’s tariff target list is light on consumer products, it includes billions of dollars worth of imported machinery and components that go into finished goods made in the U.S. That means American manufacturers will have to pay more for parts and equipment, raising prices for American consumers and making their products less competitive in foreign markets

So far, the tariffs represent a relatively small portion of U.S.-China trade. That means the immediate economic impact of the trade war could be limited for both sides, another reason some analysts expect the dispute to linger for some time.

But economists have warned that a full-blown trade war, especially if it drags on for more than a year, could slow the U.S. economy.

U.S. exporters facing higher tariffs in China will have a tough choice. They can either take a profit hit, or try to pass along the higher cost to Chinese consumers, thus making their products less competitive.

U.S. ports, which handle hundreds of billions of dollars in merchandise each year, will be among the first to feel the pain if the Trump administration’s trade war begins to slow the global economy.

As the White House has widened its threats of expanding duties on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods, port managers across the country have been bracing for the prospect of canceled shipments and lost jobs.

(Reuters contributed.)