President Trump: China is desperate for a trade deal with the US
US President Donald Trump said on August 11 that the flight of businesses made China very eager to reach a trade agreement with the US.
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US President Donald Trump. Photo: Reuters. |
"China wants a trade deal very badly. Thousands of companies are leaving because of Tariffs and they have to stop the exodus. China is probably hoping the Democrats win so they can continue their great rip-off of the United States and steal hundreds of billions of dollars," President Donald Trump wrote on Twitter yesterday.
Trump's comments came just two days after a White House speech in which he said Washington was not ready for a deal with Beijing, even though China was looking forward to it. China has not commented on the statement.
The US and China were close to reaching a trade deal in May, but Chinese President Xi Jinping reportedly made a last-minute change that caused the deal to collapse. The truce was agreed upon by Trump and Xi in late June when the two leaders met on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Japan, paving the way for the two sides' negotiating teams to meet in Shanghai in late July.
However, the two sides did not achieve any significant results from this meeting. Trump immediately ordered a 10% tariff on $300 billion worth of Chinese goods. In retaliation, China announced it would stop buying American agricultural products and devalue its currency.
The prospect of a trade deal between Beijing and Washington has become even more remote after the US Treasury Department last week labeled China a currency manipulator. Negotiators from both sides are scheduled to meet again in September in Washington, but observers say it will be difficult for the two countries to reach a breakthrough to end the trade war.
