The president said that China had offered to make some changes to its trade practices, but that the list did not go far enough to resolve the United States’ concerns.
WASHINGTON — President Trump said on Friday that a list of trade concessions offered by Chinese officials in recent days was not sufficient to resolve concerns about Beijing’s trade practices, suggesting that a deal remains unlikely when Mr. Trump meets with President Xi Jinping of China this month.
In remarks at the White House, Mr. Trump expressed optimism that an agreement with China would eventually be reached and acknowledged that negotiations had intensified in recent weeks ahead of the Group of 20 summit meeting in Argentina. But while Beijing has begun offering concessions, Mr. Trump said they did not go far enough to change China’s unfair trade practices.
“They sent a list of things they are willing to do. A large list. It’s not acceptable to me yet,” Mr. Trump said.
China recently gave Trump administration officials a list of about 140 concessions they were willing to make, which Mr. Trump described as “a pretty complete list.” But he said the list did not include “four or five” large items that needed to be resolved before a deal could be reached.
“Some things were left off. We will probably get them, too,” Mr. Trump said.
The United States has accused China of engaging in a range of unfair trade practices, including restricting access to its market, pressuring American companies doing business in China to hand over valuable technology, cyberespionage and outright intellectual property theft.
The administration has given China a list of more than 100 demands, including eliminating the theft of intellectual property, easing joint venture requirements for companies doing business in China and agreeing to reduce the bilateral trade deficit. China has frustrated American officials in the past by repackaging reforms that they intend to make, or have already made, as major concessions.
