TRUMP SAYS ‘NO’ TO MEETING XI BEFORE US-CHINA TRADE TALKS DEADLINE

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump said on Thursday he did not expect to meet his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping before a March 1 deadline in trade war negotiations between the two economic superpowers. “Not yet,” Trump told reporters at the White House when asked if a meeting had been arranged for within the next month. Asked if a meeting could happen by March 1, he said, “No.” Trump has said that final resolution of the trade dispute would depend on him and Xi meeting “in the near future.” There had been speculation that Trump might meet the Chinese leader after he flies to Vietnam in late February for a summit with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un.