BFF-32 US-China trade negotiations progressing ‘very nicely’: Trump

473

ZCZC

BFF-32

US-CHINA-POLITICS-ECONOMY-TARIFFS-TRUMP

US-China trade negotiations progressing ‘very nicely’: Trump

WASHINGTON, April 4, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – President Donald Trump said Thursday that US-China trade talks are progressing “very nicely” but that he insists on all US concerns being resolved or will not sign a deal.

“It looks like the deal is moving along very nicely,” he told reporters at the White House, where he was due to meet Chinese trade envoy Liu He later in the day.

“Everything is covered, there’s nothing that’s not covered,” Trump said, referring to the scope of US demands.

“It’s got to be a great deal,” he said. “If it’s not a great deal, we’re not doing it.”

Last year, Trump launched a trade war with China, seeking to slash that country’s soaring trade surplus with the United States, end alleged unfair trade practices such as the theft of American technology and China’s massive state intervention in markets.

Washington and Beijing since last year have imposed slapped tariffs on more than $360 billion in two-way trade, biting into their manufacturing sectors as the world economy shows signs of slowing.

Trump and the Chinese delegation were expected to make further remarks to the press at their White House meeting Thursday, including on whether Trump and China’s President Xi Jinping have set a date for a long discussed summit on trade.

BSS/AFP/MMA/0048HRS