China, US are possible locations for Trump-Xi trade deal signing
- Beijing open to various options as efforts continue to find new venue after Chile plans fall through
- US president suggests US meeting, while Chinese foreign ministry says communications are continuing
China is open to various options on where to sign a trade deal with the United States, but will avoid giving too many concessions, sources and diplomatic observers said, as efforts continue to find a new venue after last week’s cancellation of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Chile.
US President Donald Trump had previously suggested that he and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping would sign what he called “phase one” of a deal at the Chilean summit. At the White House on Sunday, Trump said that if a trade deal was reached, it would be signed somewhere in the US.
“First of all, I want to get the deal,” he said. “The meeting place, to me, is going to be very easy.”
Also on Sunday, US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, who is not a key member in the US trade negotiations team, told Bloomberg that Iowa, Alaska, Hawaii and even locations in China were all possible.
In talks with Ross and US National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien in Bangkok on Monday, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said that China and the US must stabilise their relations, and resolve their differences on the basis of mutual respect.