President Trump has agreed to meet one-on-one with China’s president, Xi Jinping, to discuss trade policy later this year, he said Thursday.
The meeting would be the first between the leaders since one in early December, which resulted in a cooling-down of the current trade war.
[Opinion: Trump’s trade plan against China is working]
China’s top trade negotiators are in the U.S. meeting with our representatives. Meetings are going well with good intent and spirit on both sides. China does not want an increase in Tariffs and feels they will do much better if they make a deal. They are correct. I will be……
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 31, 2019
….meeting with their top leaders and representatives today in the Oval Office. No final deal will be made until my friend President Xi, and I, meet in the near future to discuss and agree on some of the long standing and more difficult points. Very comprehensive transaction….
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 31, 2019
“No final deal will be made until my friend President Xi, and I, meet in the near future to discuss and agree on some of the long standing and more difficult points,” Trump tweeted.
Talks are ongoing. The president is set to meet with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He, the nation’s top trade official, in Washington Thursday. “Meetings are going well with good intent and spirit on both sides. China does not want an increase in Tariffs and feels they will do much better if they make a deal,” Trump said.
….China’s representatives and I are trying to do a complete deal, leaving NOTHING unresolved on the table. All of the many problems are being discussed and will be hopefully resolved. Tariffs on China increase to 25% on March 1st, so all working hard to complete by that date!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 31, 2019
Trump said the point of the current talks was to have a deal “leaving NOTHING unresolved on the table.” He said both sides were working hard to beat a self-imposed March 1 deadline. If the administration cannot claim progress, it will raise tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods to 25 percent, up from the current rate of 10 percent.
Liu met with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and other top administration officials Wednesday, including Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross.
