President Trump said Monday that he had a “very good” telephone conversation with China’s President Xi Jinping and that the two leaders will have “an extended meeting” next week at the G-20 meeting in Japan.
The question of whether the two would meet has been open for weeks, with Chinese officials declining to say whether Xi would meet with Trump and Trump saying both that he expected the meeting to take place and that he would raise tariffs on Chinese goods if it did not.
Had a very good telephone conversation with President Xi of China. 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.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 18, 2019
Trade talks between the U.S. and China broke down this spring after months of negotiations and heighte3ned expectations that the two nations were near a deal. Trump raised tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese goods from 10 percent to 25 percent and U.S. officials accused China of reneging on terms they had agreed to earlier. Since then, U.S. and Chinese officials have not met to discuss a resolution to the trade dispute and China has retaliated by halting purchases of some U.S. agricultural products.
U.S. stocks moved sharply higher after Trump’s tweet.
Trump has often said he has a good personal relationship with Xi and has praised the Chinese leader. But he points out that Xi’s role is to press for Chinese advantage while Trump works on behalf of the American people.
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