China tempers public expectations of a Xi-Trump summit trade war breakthrough
- Beijing mobilises its media outlets to talk up the Chinese economy’s prospects – whatever happens between the two leaders
Beijing has sought to dampen public expectations of a trade war breakthrough when the leaders of China and the United States meet in Japan this weekend, playing up the need for compromise while playing down the potential impact of continued conflict on the Chinese economy.
Chinese President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart Donald Trump are scheduled to meet to discuss the trade war on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit in Osaka on Saturday.
In the weeks leading up to the meeting, Trump has appeared strident, threatening fresh duties on imports of Chinese products if Xi did not agree to the bilateral talks.
China, by contrast, has taken a low-key approach.
When Trump declared in mid-June that the meeting was on, Beijing was slow to react – it was not until this week that China confirmed that Xi would attend the G20 summit. Even then, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not explicitly say the two leaders would talk, mentioning only that “bilateral meetings with leaders of many countries” would also be held.
Observers said China’s negotiators were caught between a rock and a hard place – risking blame if they come away without a deal and accusations of surrender if they make concessions to reach an agreement.