US, China working together to find new venue for trade deal, both sides confirm
- Negotiations going ‘as planned’, China’s foreign ministry says after cancellation of Apec summit, where both sides were aiming for a ‘phase-one’ agreement
- Trump confirmed joint effort to find a new venue and signals intention to sign the deal
Xi and Trump have “maintained contact”, China’s foreign ministry said on Thursday, and the US leader said via Twitter that a new location “will be announced soon” and that he expects to sign an agreement.
“The negotiations are smooth and things are working out as planned,” China’s foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told a daily press briefing. “Regarding the meeting between the two state leaders, they have maintained contact through various means.”
According to diplomatic observers, while Beijing wants a truce in the trade dispute it is in less of a hurry than Trump, who is facing the threat of impeachment and trying to prepare for an election campaign.
Shen Dingli, an expert in international relations based in Shanghai, said that China faced less domestic opposition to its handling of the trade talks than Washington.
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“Trump is facing a lot of problems on both the diplomatic and domestic fronts,” he said. “[But] I think both sides still need an agreement. It is always better to have an agreement than not.”
Yuan Zheng, an expert on China-US relations at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said that while the Apec summit had offered a convenient way for the presidents to meet, the substance of the deal was more important than where it might be signed.
“It’s true that the deal can be signed by representatives instead of the presidents but this depends very much on how keen Trump is for the presidential meeting to happen,” he said.
“He is facing an election and huge domestic pressure, so he … needs to show his strong leadership more than Xi. But of course, if the deal is set and if the details of the meeting are practical, the Chinese side would like a presidential meeting too.”
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Tai Hui, chief market strategist for Asia at JPMorgan Asset Management, said the cancellation of the Chile summit should not stop the US and China agreeing a truce.
“If the two sides are genuinely willing to reach an interim deal before mid-December, when the next increase in tariffs on Chinese goods is due to take place, they will find a venue to get it done,” he said.
Additional reporting by Robert Delaney
