US-China trade war: Trump says he’ll welcome deal ‘either way’ as Beijing cools on idea of summit
- Schedule for Mar-a-Lago talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping remains unclear
- Sources in Beijing say talk of leaders’ meeting has been over-hyped
US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that he was in no rush to complete a trade deal with China and insisted that any accord with Beijing must include protection for intellectual property, a major sticking point between the two sides during months of negotiations.
Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping were expected to hold a summit at the US president’s Mar-a-Lago property in Florida later this month, but no date has been set for a meeting and no in-person talks between their trade teams have taken place in more than two weeks.
The US president said he thought there was a good chance a deal would be made, in part because China wanted one after suffering tariffs on its goods.
But he acknowledged Xi may be cooling on the idea of a summit without an agreement in hand after seeing Trump end a meeting in Vietnam with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un without a peace deal.
“I think President Xi saw that I’m somebody that believes in walking when the deal is not done, and you know there’s always a chance it could happen, and he probably wouldn’t want that,” Trump said.