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.”
The US, in turn, has agreed not to impose threatened new tariffs on Chinese good, while also scaling back certain tariffs on Chinese products, although the bulk of the tariffs already in place have remained.
“Most of our tariffs on China will remain in place during the phase two negotiations,” Trump added.
Today I’m proud to declare the United States is in the midst of an economic boom, the likes of which the world has never seen before
Last week, a day after the deal with China was signed, the US Senate also approved the revised United States-Mexico-Canada-Agreement, with Trump set to sign that deal next week.
“Today I’m proud to declare the United States is in the midst of an economic boom, the likes of which the world has never seen before,” Trump said in his speech in Switzerland.
“America is thriving. America is flourishing and yes, America is winning again like never before.”
Trump has a track record of publicly hailing his friendship with his Chinese counterpart. In April 2018, Trump tweeted that “President Xi and I will always be friends”.
Xi has rarely talked about his personal feelings towards Trump in public, although at an economic forum in Russia in June, China’s president called Trump “my friend”.
Trump’s definition of his relationship with Xi, though, turned less friendly in July and August during negotiations over the trade deal.
He first told reporters in July that “I used to say he was a good friend of mine … we’re probably not quite as close now”, before a tweet in August aimed at the US Federal Reserve said “my only question is, who is our bigger enemy, [US Federal Reserve chair] Jay Powell or Chairman Xi?”
Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, meanwhile, is leading the Hong Kong delegation in Switzerland. She is joined by commerce chief Edward Yau Tang-wah as well top officials from the Hong Kong airport authority, the MTR Corporation, Swire Pacific and the Hong Kong stock exchange.
