Chicago officials are expected to announce this week that a Chinese developer is moving ahead with plans for an 89-story riverfront residential and hotel tower.

Chicago officials are expected to announce this week that a Chinese developer is moving ahead with plans for an 89-story riverfront residential and hotel tower, to be designed by Chicago architect Jeanne Gang, according to sources close to the deal.

Beijing-based Wanda Group reportedly plans to invest $900 million in the project, which is likely to house an ultra-luxurious hotel, insiders say. For Chicagoans, it is the splashiest of deals being highlighted this week as U.S.-China trade talks get started here.

The project is expected to have an unusual profile -- three interlocking, zigzagging high-rises, according to conceptual designs from the developer. At this point the entire cost of the project is not known.

An update on the plans is expected later this week during the 25th annual U.S.-China Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade session, which will conclude late Thursday. Gang's renderings, when they are made public, will provide greater detail.

The 1,148-foot tower would be the city's third tallest after the Trump Tower (1,362 feet, including its spire) and Willis Tower (1,729 feet to its tip).

While not nearly as tall as the twisting 2,000-foot-high Chicago Spire, which had been designed by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava, the Wanda project promises to add another architecturally distinctive skyscraper to the city's eastern edge.

The project was first announced in early July, before proposals had been submitted to the city. The developer is now in talks with the city, though applications are not yet filed, according to the city's economic development department.

The 28-acre Lakeshore East development site is along the Chicago River, east of the Swissotel Chicago at 323 E. Upper Wacker Dr.

Wanda Group, controlled by mainland China's richest man, Wang Jianlin, would take a 90 percent stake. Chicago-based Magellan Development Group is its partner.

The tower is likely to house condos, rather than apartments, as first reported, according to industry insiders. With Wanda Group's investment, many expect that the project may not need pre-sales before starting construction.

Gang's Aqua tower in Chicago, at 859 feet, is viewed as one of the most architecturally interesting additions to the city's skyline in recent years. Her firm is known as Studio Gang Architects.

Gang's firm declined to comment. A spokesman for Magellan could not be reached Tuesday afternoon. Mayor Rahm Emanuel's office declined comment.

In another trade deal this week, China is expected to agree to accept U.S. imports of a type of genetically modified corn that it has rejected in the past, according to reports from Agri-Pulse and Bloomberg.

Seed maker Syngenta is expected to announce Chinese government approval of Agrisure Viptera corn, known as MIR 162.

Global grain handlers Cargill and Chicago-based Archer Daniels Midland, along with dozens of U.S. farmers, have sued Syngenta for damages from the rejections. They claim the seed company misled the farm industry about the timeline for approval by China, a major importer.

U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker, in a meeting with the Chicago Tribune editorial board Tuesday, confirmed that the issue of genetically modified crops will be discussed during the JCCT talks Thursday.

"We're trying right now to expand opportunities for companies with genetically modified seeds," she said.

Separately, Chinese buyers signed nine contracts for a total of more than 1.1 million tons of U.S. soybeans in a ceremony held in Chicago Tuesday, Reuters reported.

The buyers signed deals with ADM, Zen-Noh Grain, Louis Dreyfus, Cargill, Gavilon and Noble-Agri.

Meanwhile, in a move that will not be welcome to Chinese officials, the United States confirmed steep import duties on solar products from China and Taiwan on Tuesday, according to a statement from the Department of Commerce.

The duties, which will affect companies including China's Trina Solar Ltd and Suntech Power and Taiwan's Motech Industries Inc, must still be confirmed by the U.S. International Trade Commission, Reuters reported. The ITC will make its final decision by Jan. 29.

Pritzker said she didn't think the development would put a damper on JCCT talks, noting there are many issues to hash out between the two nations.

The JCCT talks are aimed at easing the flow of cross-border commerce -- an idea that creates discomfort among some Americans who fear further job losses to China, particularly in the manufacturing sector.

U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman, who together with Pritzker will engage in talks with Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang, acknowledged the anxiety felt by many but said greater use of automation and globalization are facts of life.

"It's not whether we're going to get rid of globalization," he said. "It's whether we are going to raise standards around the world."