Trade war: China and US to hold phone talks on Friday after Apec setback

Chile pulls out of hosting Apec summit, at which Presidents Xi Jinping and Donald Trump planned to meet

Cancellation could allow more time to strike better trade deal, which need not require a presidential summit, observers say

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US President Donald Trump and Xi Jinping will not meet in Santiago next month, but their countries’ trade negotiators will talk on Friday. Photo: AFP

Teddy Ngin Hong Kong,Kinling Loin BeijingandKristin Huangin Hong Kong

Published: 12:50pm, 31 Oct 2019Updated: 11:53pm, 31 Oct 2019

Top trade negotiators from China and the United States will hold a phone conversation on Friday, the Chinese commerce ministry has announced, as the countries’ talks remained on track despite plans for their respective presidents to meet in Chile being disrupted.

A spokesman for the ministry said the two countries had maintained close communication and negotiations were going well.

The announcement came hours after next month’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit was cancelled by its host nation Chile, catching Chinese officials off guard.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart Donald Trump had been expected to meet on the sidelines of the Apec leaders’ meeting in Santiago, scheduled on November 16 and 17, and sign an interim trade agreement.

The Xi-Trump meeting was plunged into uncertainty when Chile’s President Sebastian Pinera cancelled the Apec meeting because of the country’s anti-government protests. But Chinese diplomatic observers and government advisers said the Apec cancellation had eased the pressure on negotiators from China and the US to rush to strike a partial trade deal.

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