Donald Trump says he and China’s Xi Jinping ‘love each other’, phase two trade talks to start ‘very shortly’
- The US president addressed the annual World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, less than a week after signing the phase one trade deal with China
- China’s President Xi opted to skip the event. He had previously sent Vice-Premier Lui He to sign the deal in Washington
US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he and President Xi Jinping “love each other”, while insisting that negotiations for a phase two trade deal will start “very shortly”.
“He’s for China, I’m for the US, but other than that we love each other,” Trump said in his speech, stirring laughter in the room.
“Our relationship with China has probably never been better. We went through a very rough patch, but it has never, ever been better.”
He’s for China, I’m for the US, but other than that we love each other
“Before I was elected, China’s predatory practices were undermining trade for everyone, but no one did anything about it apart from allowing it to keep getting worse, and worse, and worse,” Trump told the forum, which saw another vice-premier, Han Zheng, leading the China delegation this year.
“Under my leadership, America confronted the problem head on. Under our new phase one agreement, phase two is starting negotiations very shortly, China has agreed to substantially do things they would not have done.”