LONDON (Reuters) -Top U.S. and Chinese officials will sit down in London on Monday for talks aimed at defusing the high-stakes trade dispute between the two superpowers that has widened in recent weeks beyond tit-for-tat tariffs to export controls over goods and components critical to global supply chains.

The FTSE 100 opened slightly higher as the US and China prepare to hold trade talks in London. The UK’s blue-chip stock index climbed 0.1pc to 8,845.73 while the mid-cap FTSE 250 was flat at 21,159.10. Donald Trump said the talks in London “should go very well”.