Trade talks will fail if US keeps attacking China, state media says
- Washington still harbours illusions of pressuring Beijing into submission, commentary says, as the two countries’ presidents prepare to meet at G20
- Unless the US changes, the two sides will continue to exchange views without making progress, it says
Beijing has called on officials in Washington to abandon “illusions” of China conceding in the countries’ prolonged trade war, setting the stage for the high-stakes G20 sit-down between Chinese President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart Donald Trump.
A commentary by Taoran Notes, a social media account affiliated with official newspaper Economic Daily, said late on Tuesday that the US side had changed its attitude to be more conducive to solving the trade conflict. But it also warned that talks “would not make substantive progress” if the United States continued to take action to pressure China.
“There are some in the US that have still not clearly recognised China’s determination, and continue to harbour illusions that they can pressure China into submission,” the commentary said.
“If the US does not change its thinking and its actions, then China and the US can only continue to ‘exchange views and maintain communication’ on trade and economic issues, without further substantive progress.”
The latest post from Taoran Notes – which has published commentaries during the trade conflict that have seemed to contain insider information on the progress of negotiations – came days before Xi and Trump are expected to meet on the sidelines of the G20 summit on Saturday to discuss the months-long trade war.