U. S. President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping are expected to discuss trade at the G-20 summit in Argentina this week — a meeting closely watched for clues on where tensions between the two economic powerhouses are going.
U. S. President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping are expected to discuss trade at the G-20 summit in Argentina this week — a meeting that’s watched globally for clues on where tensions between the U. S. and China are going.
The meeting comes after tit-for-tat tariffs between the two countries dominated headlines this year: The U. S. levied additional duties on $250 billion worth of Chinese goods, and China responded with retaliatory tariffs on $110 billion of American imports.
And there could be more in the works. Trump has threatened to increase those additional duties imposed on Chinese goods this year from 10 percent to 25 percent next January. The U. S. president also said he’s considering levying extra tariffs on another $267 billion worth of Chinese imports should Beijing retaliate.
The escalation in tensions between the world’s two largest economies is a threat to the global economy. And the upcoming meeting between Trump and Xi could either calm nerves or continue to keep the world on edge.
Discussions around trade are expected dominate the G-20 summit, with the meeting between Trump and Xi likely to overshadow much of the main agenda at Bueno Aires — but most experts are not expecting any breakthrough in the ongoing U. S.-China tariff fight.
Trump himself has indicated as much. Before departing for Argentina, the president told reporters that the U. S. is “close to doing something with China but I don’t know that I want to do it.”
To Gary Locke, former U. S. ambassador to China, that statement shows that Trump is preparing the world for a “no deal” outcome.
“Because there have been really no substantive negotiations over the last several weeks or months, at most, there might be an agreement for the president to withhold further tariffs, not adding to the tariffs already imposed on some $250 billion worth of goods coming from China, in exchange for discussions over the next several months,” Locke told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Friday.
