Trump-Xi G20 dinner unlikely to end in joint statement, regardless of outcome

The high-stakes dinner between US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in Buenos Aires on Saturday is likely to end with no joint statement or joint press conference, regardless of whether they achieve a breakthrough in their talks.

But this doesn’t mean Washington and Beijing lack goodwill or believe there will be no breakthrough, according to sources familiar with the arrangements.

The lack of a formal joint readout of the meeting’s results is designed to offer both the US and China the leeway to handle the outcome from the meeting as each sees fit, according to a source who was briefed on the preparations and declined to be identified.

Washington will tell in its own way its version of the event – a major diplomatic occasion that could affect the world’s economic trajectory for years to come – while Beijing is likely to give a brief summary of the first face-to-face meeting between Trump and Xi since the start of the trade war, the source said.

Trump needs concessions from China to convince his domestic audience that the US is winning, while Xi needs a truce or a fresh deal to show his domestic audience that China is not giving in.

A US official said there were no plans for a joint press conference or a joint statement, adding that it would be up to the two leaders to give their impressions of the discussion separately.

The meeting will take place shortly before Trump is expected to depart Buenos Aires for Washington, giving him hours of time on Air Force One to reflect and react on Twitter.

Whether Beijing and Washington find common ground to suspend – or possibly even end – their escalating trade conflict largely hinges on the outcome of the face-to-face summit in the form of a sit-down dinner.

It is widely expected that any form of agreement between Trump and Xi will, at best, be a general framework instead of a specific action plan.