TRUMP TALKS TRADE AT G20 SUMMIT
But US-China spat, signs of global slowdown casting shadows over meet
UNITED States President Donald Trump yesterday said he hoped for productive talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping on a trade war that is casting a shadow on global growth, but said he had not made any promises about a reprieve from escalating tariffs.
The trade feud and signs of a global slowdown has loomed over a two-day Group of 20 (G20) summit, here, where Trump and Xi met in passing, and prepared for one-on-one talks today.
To lay the groundwork for the talks, Chinese Vice-Premier Liu He met Trump’s treasury secretary, Steven Mnuchin, and Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer at the hotel where the US delegation was staying, said a source familiar with the talks.
China has said it hoped the US would meet halfway on the issues.
The world’s two biggest economies are locked in a trade dispute and expectations have dimmed that Trump and Xi can ease tension when they meet on the sidelines of the meeting.
“At a minimum it will be productive. We’ll see what happens and what comes out of it,” said Trump after a series of meetings with leaders where he made clear that his priority was two-way trade deals to boost the US economy.
Asked, however, if he had promised Xi a six-month reprieve on imposing new tariffs on a US$300 billion (RM1.24 trillion) list of Chinese imports, Trump said: “No.”
Trump has already imposed tariffs on US$250 billion of Chinese imports and is threatening to extend those to another US$300 billion of goods, effectively everything China exports to the US. China has retaliated with tariffs on US imports.
In Beijing, foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said he hoped the US side could meet China halfway.
“This accords with the interests of both countries and is what the international community is hoping for,” he told a news briefing.
Trump’s administration also has trade feuds with India, Japan and Germany, whose leaders he met yesterday.
Trump said he saw US trade prospects improving, days after criticising the US-Japan security treaty and demanding that India withdraw retaliatory tariffs.
“I think we’re going to have some very big things to announce. Very big trade deal,” said Trump before he began talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, but gave no details.
A White House official said the two leaders had called on their teams to work on mutually beneficial trade solutions.
Trump also made a push to discuss US concerns about Chinese telecoms equipment maker Huawei Technologies Co.
The US has pressed its allies to shun Huawei in their fifth generation networks on security grounds, and it has also suggested it could be a factor in a trade deal with Xi.
“We actually sell Huawei many of its parts,” said Trump at his meeting with Modi. “So we’re going to be discussing that and also how India fits in. And we’ll be discussing Huawei.”
Several leaders warned that the growing trade friction was threatening global growth.
“The trade relations between China and the US are difficult, they are contributing to the slowdown of the global economy,” said European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker.
Modi, at the same meeting, called for a focus on reforming the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and Russian President Vladimir Putin decried what he called efforts to destroy the Geneva-based body.
“We consider counter-productive any attempts to destroy WTO or to lower its role,” said Putin.