Trump briefed in Florida on ‘productive’ talks with China

WASHINGTON: United States President Donald Trump said on Saturday he was briefed at his Florida resort by negotiators working to reach a trade deal with Beijing after their return from “productive” meetings with Chinese officials.

“Trade negotiators have just returned from China where the meetings on trade were very productive. Now at meetings with me at Mar-a-Lago giving the details.”

He also reiterated his assertion that current tariffs “are being paid to the US by China”, when in fact they are paid by US firms and by American consumers in the form of higher prices.

Senior officials completed two days of high-stakes talks in Beijing on Friday as they try to avert the US threat to more than double tariffs on US$200 billion (RM817 billion) in Chinese goods.

American officials accuse Beijing of seeking global industrial predominance through an array of unfair trade practices, including the “theft” of American intellectual property and massive state intervention in commodities markets.

Since a December detente, China has resumed purchases of some US soyabeans and dangled massive buying of American commodities to get US trade negotiators closer to a deal.

Talks have included discussion of purchases to reduce the “large and persistent bilateral trade deficit”, said the White House.

But many China experts say Beijing’s Communist Party rulers are unlikely to make significant changes to industrial policies without a tough fight.