One of the latest developments on the US-China trade war, according to U.S President Donald Trump, was that China is back to the negotiating table.
Speaking at the G-7 Summit on Monday, the US President made this announcement that somehow calmed the global market. With words that were too far from being formal and diplomatic, Trump said China wanted it “very badly”. To emphasize his point, he added, “I’m not sure they have a choice ”.
The US president said that top trade officials received overnight calls from Beijing about making a renewed deal. He said, “They have been hurt very badly but they understand this is the right thing to do and I have great respect for it. This is a very positive development for the world”.
China Denied Trump’s Claims
Trump said that he’s confident that the two economic powerhouses are going to have a deal. But it appears the other side’s telling a different story. According to Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang, he was not aware that any phone calls had been made to the US. The spokesperson denied Trump’s claims that China’s asking for trade negotiations.
To counter the U.S president’s claims, Hu Xijin, editor-in-chief of Chinese state-run newspaper the Global Times, denied Trump’s claims by stating, “China didn’t change its position. It won’t cave to U.S. pressure”.
Trump reiterated that the U.S., indeed, had numerous calls with China, but refused to give more details.
Before leaving for the summit, Trump said he would raise existing duties on Chinese goods worth $250 billion from 25% to 30% on October 1. Furthermore, he will raise tariffs on another $300 billion worth of Chinese goods from 10% to 15% starting September 1.
This tit-for-tat trade war might possibly, as everybody worries, escalate into a larger scale.
