United States, China to hold extended talks on sidelines of G20 summit in Japan, says Donald Trump
Chinese state media confirmed that Xi Jingping has agreed to the meeting and pressed for the need to resolve economic and trade disputes through talks.
United States President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he had spoken to Chinese President Xi Jinping and that teams from the two countries would resume trade talks before the leaders meet on the sidelines of the G20 summit later this month. This comes after a month-long standoff between the two nations that have been imposing trade sanctions on each other.
“Had a very good telephone conversation with President Xi of China,” Trump tweeted. “We will be having an extended meeting next week at the G-20 in Japan. Our respective teams will begin talks prior to our meeting.”
During their phone conversation, the two leaders discussed about farmers, workers, and businesses in the United States which needed a level-playing field through a fair and reciprocal economic relationship, unidentified US officials said, according to PTI. The two leaders also discussed regional security matters.
Chinese state media confirmed that Xi had agreed to the meeting and that the Chinese president had pressed for the need to resolve economic and trade disputes through talks. “The key is to show consideration to each other’s legitimate concerns,” Reuters quoted Xi as saying. “We also hope that the United States treats Chinese companies fairly. I agree that the economic and trade teams of the two countries will maintain communication on how to resolve differences.”
Stocks marked gains after Trump’s tweet as investors hope new talks could ease trade tensions between the two countries.
China and the US have imposed tariffs on goods worth $360 billion in two-way trade since last year. However, Trump and his Chinese counterpart came to an agreement in December 2018 to stop further escalation. Trump had accused Beijing of indulging in unfair trade practices.
On May 10, Trump again increased import duty on Chinese products worth nearly $300 billion (Rs 21 lakh crore). Beijing had also retaliated by announcing plans to hike tariffs on $60 billion (Rs 4 lakh crore) worth of imports from the United States from June 1.
In May, Trump also signed an executive order declaring a national emergency to effectively bar American telecom companies from using foreign-made equipment believed to pose threats to national security.