*US - CHINA GO : DOOR TO DOOR*

The gathering of world finance ministers began with heightened anxiety about the potential damage-

A US-China trade war could do to the economic recovery but ended last Saturday with door open to negotiations.

International Monetary Fund Chief Christine Lagarde, who has been urging countries to avoid damaging protectionism, said this weekend's spring meeting had ''made progress towards dialogue.''

And shortly after her comments, US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin announced he was considering a trip Beijing to hold talks on the trade dispute, a respite after weeks in which tensions were had ratcheted even higher.

China said on Sunday it welcomes the suggestion of a visit.

Tensions between the world's two largest economies have cast a shadow over over this week's gathering of finance ministers, given concerns a trade war would undercut the global recovery.

President Donald Trump last month approved steep tariffs on tens of billions of dollars of Chinese imports, while Beijing has slapped duties on key US agricultural exports and has threatened to do likewise for the sensitive American soybean industry.

The heated trade rhetoric comes at a delicate moment, as Washington and Beijing are both seeking to address North Korea's nuclear program -which Pyongyang said Saturday it would largely scale back.

The IMF's governing committee in a statement at the conclusion of the ministerial highlighted the risks presented by ''increasing trade and geopolitical tensions.''

Lagarde in recent weeks has repeated urged member countries to steer clear of protectionism and warned the uncertainty around trade disputes could choke off investment, a key drivers of the current recovery. [Agencies]

The Publishing continues to Part 2.