Today, China is hoping that Wall Street will once again use its political heft to soothe tempers in Washington. But as President Donald Trump ratchets up the trade war with Beijing, Wall Street’s words are falling on deaf ears.

Senior Wall Street executives met in Beijing on Sunday with current and former Chinese officials and bankers at a hastily organized session to find ways to strengthen financial ties between the United States and China. On Monday, the group planned to meet with Vice President Wang Qishan, the right-hand man of Xi Jinping, the country’s leader.

New trade talks between the two governments are tentatively scheduled between Steven Mnuchin, the Treasury secretary, and Liu He, a Chinese vice premier, later this month in Washington. Stephen A. Schwarzman, Blackstone’s chief, has been playing a critical role in organizing them, say people familiar with the talks, who asked for anonymity because the process is sensitive.

But the Chinese have indicated that they will pull out of the talks if Trump follows through on his threat to impose tariffs on another $200 billion in Chinese goods, according to a person familiar with the matter. Trump has told advisers that he wants to move ahead with the new round of tariffs and an announcement could come as early as this week, another person familiar with the discussions said.

That continues a frustrating trend for America’s financial titans: Even as they win tax cuts and regulatory rollbacks from the Trump administration and the Republican-controlled Congress, they appear to be able to do little to stop the trade war.

“What’s really surprising is that the connections that used to work, the formula that used to work, just don’t work at this point,” said Marshall W. Meyer, an emeritus professor of management at the Wharton School of Business.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

Alexandra Stevenson, Kate Kelly and Keith Bradsher © 2018 The New York Times