Donald Trump says China 'broke the deal' in trade talks

WASHINGTON: The US and China have signalled hardening positions as they prepare for high-stakes talks in Washington to try and avoid an escalation in a year-old trade war that has cast a long shadow over financial markets and the global economy.

China’s top trade envoy, Vice Premier Liu He, is due to land in the US capital on Thursday afternoon and go immediately into discussions with President Donald Trump’s top negotiator, Robert Lighthizer. US tariffs on some $200 billion in Chinese goods are set to increase to 25% just hours later in a move that economists and businesses say risks being the most economically consequential of all of Trump’s tariff moves so far.

But the mood on both sides going into the talks appears to be hardening with RobertLighthizer calling members of Congress ahead of the discussions to warn that a deal this week is unlikely, according to people familiar with the conversations.


While Trump on Wednesday insisted that Liu was coming to make a deal and dubbed him a “good man” he also roiled Asian markets again by saying China “broke the deal” by backsliding on prior commitments, leading him to order higher tariffs.

China has disputed Trump’s characterisation that the country reneged. But it has also sent its own signals that a deal could take time. Unlike in some of his previous visits to Washington, Liu is not traveling with the designation “special envoy” of Xi Jinping, according to people briefed on his trip.