Trump says he ‘cancelled’ US-China trade talks, blames Beijing over coronavirus
- President says ‘I don’t want to talk to China right now’
- Review of phase one deal at six-month mark now postponed indefinitely
US President Donald Trump said he called off last weekend’s trade talks with China and that Beijing’s handling of the coronavirus is “unthinkable”.
“I cancelled talks with China,” Trump said Tuesday in Yuma, Arizona. “I don’t want to talk to China right now.”
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US-China trade talks postponed as Trump says he does not want to talk to China
Trump has been stepping up complaints about China, particularly over the spread of the coronavirus, which he regularly calls the “China virus”.
“What China did to the world was unthinkable,” Trump said.
The trade talks had been aimed at reviewing progress at the six-month mark of the so-called phase one trade agreement between the two countries. Chinese Vice-Premier Liu He was supposed to hold a video conference call with US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin but it was postponed indefinitely.
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Trump calls Covid-19 'kung flu' again at another rally
The talks never made it on to any official public calendar in Washington or Beijing, but Reuters reported that they were set for Saturday. Earlier, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said that information on high-level talks would be released “in due course”.
Addressing whether the US would pull out of the phase one deal, Trump said: “We’ll see what happens.”
Trump says China’s purchases are meant ‘to keep me happy’
The president’s statement came a day after the president praised China's purchase of agricultural goods and the president's trade adviser Peter Navarro said the phase one deal was “on track”.
Speaking to US broadcaster CNBC on Monday Navarro, the White House trade adviser, praised China's purchases of US exports but accused the Chinese leadership of working with Democrats to seek Trump's ousting.
The two countries are also sparring over Hong Kong's autonomy, China's treatment of ethnic minorities, Beijing's military expansion in the South China Sea and a US crackdown on Chinese tech companies and push to lock Huawei out of 5G markets.
Additional reporting by DPA
