At G-7, Trump touts new talks with China

President Donald Trump shifted the tone on his trade dispute with China again Monday, expressing confidence that the two sides can return to the table and reach a deal three days after calling President Xi Jinping an “enemy” of the United States. “I think

What happened

Trump announced at the G-7 summit that Chinese officials had reached out by telephone and that negotiators would restart trade talks.

“We were called and we’re going to start very shortly to negotiate,” Trump said. “We’ll see what happens, but I think we’re going to make a deal.” He added that the Chinese seemed ready to agree. “This is the first time I’ve seen them where they really want to make a deal.”

Previously

Trump has pivoted repeatedly in his language on the conflict in recent days. On Friday, after China imposed new tariffs in retaliation for U.S. levies, Trump said he “hereby ordered” American companies to start leaving China and vowed to increase his own tariffs.

On Sunday, Trump said he’d had “second thoughts” about the escalation. But within hours, aides rushed out statements saying that his only regret was that he had not been even tougher on China.

What it means

Details about the new trade talks with China remain elusive. President Trump has made such statements before, only to attack Beijing days or even hours later.

The stock market has fallen sharply based on some of the tactics, particularly in August, and this has led Trump to make changes on the fly, delaying some penalties or ratcheting up his rhetoric.

Asked Monday if his shifts in rhetoric and policies were hurting the global economy, Trump said, “Sorry — it’s the way I negotiate. It’s done very well for me over the years.”

Reaction in China

Chinese officials did not confirm the major progress in talks that Trump cited Monday.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said he was “not aware” of any phone calls with Trump. He did reiterate, however, that China wanted the trade dispute to be resolved.

“We hope the U.S. can return to reason as soon as possible, and create conditions for consultations based on mutual respect,” he said.

Why it matters

The U.S. economy appears to be slowing, domestic manufacturing has weakened and U.S. businesses have halted many decisions while they wait to see how Trump’s trade deals work out. Foreign leaders, meanwhile, have become increasingly nervous that the trade dispute could knock numerous countries into a recession.