US-China trade breakthrough ‘unlikely’ at G20 meeting between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping
- Widely anticipated sideline talks move closer
- Former Chinese central bank chief hopes for positive news but is not optimistic
A breakthrough in the current stalemate between China and the US is unlikely when Chinese President Xi Jinping meets his American counterpart at the G20 summit in Japan next month, a former Chinese central bank chief said on Friday.
“Leaders of China and the US will meet late next month in Japan and I hope there will be positive news [from the meeting],” said Dai Xianglong, former governor of the People’s Bank of China, at a seminar on China-US technology development in Beijing.
“However, [any breakthrough] would not be easy because it is actually very difficult for the US side to form a powerful and systematic correction that can right the wrongs made by [President] Trump,” he said adding he had no direct knowledge of the meeting arrangement.
US Vice-President Mike Pence also said on Thursday – during a visit to Ottawa where he met Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau – that he was hopeful a Xi-Trump meeting would take place during the G20, but added that China must agree to reforms, according to a report by Reuters.
Dai is currently a vice-chair of the China Centre for International Economic Exchanges, a Beijing-based think tank that seats a number of former senior officials.
China and the US are deadlocked over an almost year-long trade war which showed signs of a breakthrough early this month until the Trump administration accused Beijing of reneging on commitments made in a draft agreement and raised tariffs on US$200 billion worth of Chinese goods.