Donald Trump seeking ‘results-oriented’ ties with China as resumption of trade talks nears, US diplomat says
The remarks by Principal Deputy Assistant State Secretary Alice Wells came as the two sides prepare to resume trade talks that have been suspended since June
US President Donald Trump’s administration looks forward to “results-oriented and very constructive” relations with China, despite the escalating trade war between the world’s top two economies and Beijing’s growing worries about Washington’s Indo-Pacific strategy, a senior US government official said.
The remarks by Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Alice Wells at a media briefing on Monday came just days before the two sides are to resume trade talks that have been suspended since June. A Chinese delegation led by Deputy Commerce Minister Wang Shouwen is to meet US Treasury Undersecretary David Malpass in Washington on August 22 and 23.
“We want to have a results-oriented and very constructive bilateral relationship with China,” Wells told reporters in Washington. “Obviously there are areas of cooperation and areas of tension.”
She emphasised that the US seeks “fair and reciprocal trade” through the free and open system the US established at the end of the second world war to benefit all nations in the Asia-Pacific region.
Amid its escalating trade tensions with Beijing, the Trump administration has moved to bolster US engagement with the Indo-Pacific region. In Singapore two weeks ago, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Washington would provide nearly US$300 million for new security funding in the region.