Trump-Xi G-20 trade talks yield ceasefire in dispute
90-day truce buys time for a longer-term deal
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — The United States and China reached a 90-day ceasefire in a trade dispute that has rattled financial markets and threatened world economic growth.
The breakthrough came after a dinner meeting Saturday between President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping at the Group of 20 summit in Buenos Aires.
Mr. Trump agreed to hold off on plans to raise tariffs Jan. 1 on $200 billion in Chinese goods. The Chinese agreed to buy a “not yet agreed upon, but very substantial amount of agricultural, energy, industrial” and other products from the United States to reduce America’s huge trade deficit with China, the White House said.
The truce buys time for the two countries to work out their differences in a dispute over Beijing’s aggressive drive to supplant U.S. technological dominance.
In another long-sought concession to the U.S., China agreed to label fentanyl, the deadly synthetic opioid responsible for tens of thousands of American drug deaths annually, as a controlled substance.
The Trump-Xi meeting was the marquee event of Mr. Trump’s whirlwind two-day trip to Argentina for the G-20 summit after the president canceled a sit-down with Russian President Vladimir Putin over mounting tensions between Russia and Ukraine. Mr. Trump
also canceled a Saturday news conference, citing respect for the Bush family following the death of former President George H.W. Bush.
Mr. Trump said Mr. Bush’s death put a “damper” on what he described as a “very important meeting” with Xi.
The United States and China are locked in a dispute over their trade imbalance and Beijing’s tech policies. Washington accuses China of deploying predatory tactics in its tech drive, including stealing trade secrets and forcing American firms to hand over technology in exchange for access to the Chinese market.
Under the agreement reached in Buenos Aires, the two countries have 90 days to resolve their differences over Beijing’s tech policies. If they can’t, the U.S. tariff increases will go into effect on the $200 billion in Chinese imports.
U.S. officials insist that the American economy is more resilient to the tumult than China’s, but they remain anxious of the economic effects of a prolonged showdown — as Mr. Trump has made economic growth the benchmark by which he wants his administration judged.
A full-blown resolution was not expected to be reached in Buenos Aires; the issues that divide them are just too difficult.
While the Trump-Xi duet riveted most attendees at the Group of 20 summit of rich and developing nations here, the G-20 leaders agreed on a communique that reflected shared ambitions in economic development, finance and trade.
The communique was in harmony with “many of the U.S.’s biggest objectives,” especially in backing reform of the World Trade Organization, according to a senior administration official who briefed reporters on the condition of anonymity.
On climate change, however, the U.S. remained the lone hold-out, with 19 other leaders pledging to implement the Paris accord to fight global warming. The U.S. instead reiterated Mr. Trump’s decision to withdraw from the accord.
G-20 also leaders agreed that the global trading system “is currently falling short of its objectives” and agreed to take stock of proposed overhauls at next year’s summit in Japan.
But it was the U.S. and China that dominated the spotlight. Perhaps not since President Richard Nixon met Mao Zedong in 1972 have U.S.-China relations pivoted so closely around individual personalities, Aaron Friedberg, a China specialist at Princeton University, said.
Mr. Trump has imposed import taxes on $250 billion in Chinese products.
Growing concerns that the trade war will increasingly hurt corporate earnings and the U.S. economy are a key reason why U.S. stock prices have been sinking this fall.
Joining other forecasters, economists at the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development last week downgraded their outlook for global economic growth next year to 3.5 percent from a previous 3.7 percent. In doing so, they cited the trade conflict as well as political uncertainty.
White House press secretary Sarah Sanders says China’s decision to label the drug as a controlled substance means that “people selling Fentanyl to the United States will be subject to China’s maximum penalty under the law.”
Mr. Trump met Friday with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a rare trilateral meeting. The symbolism ahead of the Xi meeting was clear: The Trump administration has looked to find common cause with both nations in countering China’s regional hegemony.
Earlier that day, Mr. Trump signed a revamped three-way trade deal with Canada and Mexico, fulfilling a long-standing pledge, though the agreement could face headwinds in Congress.