Donald Trump says US-China trade talks going well because Beijing ‘has to make a deal’
- Deputy-level meetings took place on Monday, with Robert Lighthizer and Steven Mnuchin to speak with their counterparts on Friday
- White House economic adviser says 15 per cent US tariffs on many consumer goods from China could be withdrawn if negotiations continue to go well
US President Donald Trump said on Monday that efforts to end the trade war with China were going well as the world’s two largest economies continued to battle over trade and politics despite heralding a long-awaited truce this month.
Trump said last week that he hoped the first phase of a trade deal announced earlier in October could be signed by the middle of next month.
“The deal with China’s coming along very well. They want to make a deal,” Trump told reporters before a cabinet meeting, stressing the toll that US tariffs have taken on the Chinese economy.
“They sort of have to make a deal … because their supply chain is going down the tubes.”
US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer told reporters the administration still aimed to finalise a deal on the first phase of the deal in time for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meetings in Chile on November 16 and 17, but said there were still outstanding issues to resolve.