Experts say the meeting between Trump and his Chinese counterpart may be a chance to reset their rocky relationship.
U. S. President Donald Trump says the United States is “very close” to a deal with China on tariffs, as he heads to the G-20 summit for highly anticipated talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping aimed at defusing long-running trade tensions.
Trump added Thursday that “I don’t know if I want to do it,” and that “I like the deal we have now,” in remarks to reporters at the White House prior to departing for this week’s summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
“What we have right now is billions and billions of dollars coming into the United States in the form of tariffs or taxes. So I don’t know. But I will tell you that I think China wants to make a deal. I’m open to making a deal,” he said.
Expectations are high for the Trump-Xi meeting on the sidelines of G-20, with experts and U. S. officials looking at the talks as a chance to reset the rocky relationship.
“We’ve got to strive to make sure we avoid miscalculation. That’s why I think we should have more dialogue, not less. Even if it’s unproductive at times, we want to stay in touch at high levels,” said former U. S. Ambassador to China Winston Lord, in a recent interview with VOA.
On the issue of trade, U. S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer this week singled out China’s policies on automobile tariffs.
“I will examine all available tools to equalize the tariffs applied to automobiles,” said Lighthizer who will be attending the G-20.
