It’s not the right time to talk to China about trade war, Trump says, as he focuses on Nafta renegotiation
US president’s remarks made amid negotiations with Mexico over replacement for Nafta, the three-nation pact which also includes Canada
US President Donald Trump said on Monday that now was “not the right time to talk” to China about the two nations’ trade war, just days after negotiations between them failed to lead to any substantive progress.
“They want to talk,” Trump said, speaking of Chinese officials. “It’s just not the right time to talk right now, to be honest with China.”
“It’s too one-sided for too many years and too many decades, and so it’s not the right time to talk,” he said. “But eventually I’m sure that we’ll be able to work out a deal with China.”
The president’s remarks came in the Oval Office during a joint announcement via speakerphone with Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto about a new trade deal brokered between their two countries in place of the North American Free Trade Agreement (Nafta), the three-nation pact which also includes Canada.
Last week a Chinese delegation, led by vice-minister of commerce Wang Shouwen, visited Washington for low-level talks hosted by the US Treasury’s under secretary of international affairs David Malpass.