Xi Jinping ‘bolstered Chinese commitments’ to US by taking lead role in trade talks, says White House aide Larry Kudlow
- Donald Trump adviser says he was impressed by Chinese president’s grasp of detail as he ‘made the pitch himself’ during talks in Argentina
- Larry Kudlow says it was unusual to see a head of state taking such a direct role in this type of negotiation, but ‘he wasn’t winging it’
Chinese President Xi Jinping “made the pitch himself” in Saturday’s dinner with Donald Trump that ended with a truce in the trade war with the US, according to White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow.
Kudlow told reporters outside the White House on Monday that it was unusual to see government leaders taking such a hands-on role in this type of negotiation.
“We’ve never seen that hands-on participation by President Xi before. In fact, that dinner was quite remarkable,” Kudlow said.
“President Xi engaged in a level of detail – you could even say he was selling this, which was, in my opinion, quite unusual for the head of state. Guys like me are supposed to know the details. He did. He made the pitch himself.
“And [Xi] wasn’t winging it, he was well prepared. And so I was impressed with that and I felt that bolstered the Chinese commitment. I may be wrong, but I believe it did,” Kudlow said.
The dinner ended with an agreement to suspend tariff increases for 90 days while the two sides continued negotiations on ending a dispute that has disrupted billions of dollars of trade between the world’s two biggest economies.