Trump, Xi will ‘likely' talk this week: White House
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump and China's President Xi Jinping will likely hold a long-awaited call later this week, the White House said Monday, as trade tensions between the world's two biggest economies ratchet back up.
Trump reignited strains with China last week when he accused the world's second-biggest economy of violating a deal that had led both countries to temporarily reduce huge tit-for-tat tariffs.
'The two leaders will likely talk this week,' Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters outside the West Wing when asked whether Trump and Xi would speak.
Trump and Xi have yet to have any confirmed contact more than five months since the Republican returned to power, despite frequent claims by the US president that a call is imminent.
Trump even said in a Time Magazine interview in April that Xi had called him – but Beijing insisted that there had been no call recently.
Stock markets around the world mostly slid on Monday as the US-China tensions resurfaced.
US, China trade row could ease after Trump-Xi talks: Treasury chief
Trump in early April introduced sweeping worldwide tariffs that targeted China most heavily of all, accusing other countries of 'ripping off' the United States and running trade imbalances.
Beijing and Washington last month agreed to slash staggeringly high tariffs on each other for 90 days after talks between top officials in Geneva.
But Trump and top US officials Washington officials last week accused China of violating the deal, with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick saying Beijing was 'slow-rolling' the agreement in comments to Fox News Sunday.
Beijing rejected those 'bogus' US claims on Monday, and accused Washington of introducing 'a number of discriminatory restrictive measures.'
Trump has separately ramped up tensions with other trade partners, including the European Union, by vowing to double global tariffs on steel and aluminum to 50 percent from Wednesday.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Business Recorder
39 minutes ago
- Business Recorder
Trump says deal with Xi ‘extremely hard' as steel tariffs double
WASHINGTON: Donald Trump said on Wednesday that it was 'extremely hard' to reach a deal with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, but the EU touted progress in its own trade talks with Washington even though the US president doubled global metal tariffs. Trump's latest trade moves came as ministers from Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries gathered in Paris to discuss the outlook for the world economy in light of a US hardball approach that has rattled world markets. Trump's sweeping tariffs on allies and adversaries have strained ties with trading partners and sparked a flurry of negotiations to avoid the duties. The White House has suggested the president will speak to Xi this week, raising hopes they can soothe tensions and speed up a trade deal between the world's two biggest economies. However, early on Wednesday, Trump appeared to dampen hopes for a quick deal. 'I like President XI of China, always have, and always will, but he is VERY TOUGH, AND EXTREMELY HARD TO MAKE A DEAL WITH!!!' he posted on his Truth Social platform. Asked about the remarks during a regular press briefing, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian said: 'The Chinese side's principles and stance on developing Sino-US relations are consistent.' China was the main target of Trump's April tariff blitz, hit with levies of 145 percent on its goods and triggering tit-for-tat tariffs of 125 percent on US imports. Both sides agreed to temporarily de-escalate in May, after Trump delayed most sweeping measures on other countries until July 9. His latest remarks came hours after he increased his tariffs on aluminum and steel from 25 percent to 50 percent, raising temperatures with various partners while exempting Britain from the higher levy. EU trade commissioner Maros Sefcovic said after talks with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer on the sidelines of the OECD meeting in Paris that raising the metal tariffs 'doesn't help the negotiations'. The two sides were nonetheless 'making progress' in their negotiations, Sefcovic said at a news conference. Goods from the 27-nation bloc will be hit with 50-percent tariffs on July 9 unless it reaches a deal with Washington. The EU has vowed to retaliate. Trump, Xi will 'likely' talk this week: White House 'We did very much focus on these negotiations, and I still believe in them,' Sefcovic said, adding that he was optimistic that a 'positive result' could be reached. Steel tariffs The US-EU meeting took place a day after the OECD cut its forecast for global economic growth, blaming Trump's tariff blitz for the downgrade. 'We need to come up with negotiated solutions as quickly as possible, because time is running out,' German economy minister Katherina Reiche warned. French trade minister Laurent Saint-Martin said: 'We have to keep our cool and always show that the introduction of these tariffs is in no one's interest.' After talks between UK Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds and Greer on Tuesday, London said that imports from the UK would remain at 25 percent for now. Both sides needed to work out duties and quotas in line with the terms of a recently signed trade pact. Trump says will double steel, aluminum tariffs to 50% 'We're pleased that as a result of our agreement with the US, UK steel will not be subject to these additional tariffs,' a British government spokesperson said. White House wants offers The Group of Seven advanced economies – Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States – was due to hold separate trade talks on Wednesday. Mexico will request an exemption from the higher tariff, Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard said, arguing that it was unfair because the United States exports more steel to its southern neighbour than it imports. 'It makes no sense to put a tariff on a product in which you have a surplus,' Ebrard said. Mexico is highly vulnerable to Trump's trade wars because 80 percent of its exports go to the United States, its main partner. While some of Trump's most sweeping levies face legal challenges, they have been allowed to remain in place for now as an appeals process takes place. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed on Tuesday that the Trump administration sent letters to governments pushing for offers by Wednesday as the July 9 deadline approached.
Business Recorder
an hour ago
- Business Recorder
Oil steady as OPEC+ ups output while wildfires curb Canadian supply
LONDON: Oil prices held steady on Wednesday amid global trade tensions and as ongoing OPEC+ output increases were offset by a hit to Canadian supply from wildfires. Brent crude futures inched 7 cents higher, rising 0.1%, to $65.70 a barrel by 1034 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was 3 cents higher, up around 0.1%, at $63.44. Plans by OPEC+ producers to again increase output by 411,000 barrels per day (bpd) in July were weighing on the market, said Janiv Shah, vice president of oil commodity markets analysis at Rystad Energy. Yet there was some support as wildfires reduced Canada's production by some 344,000 bpd, according to Reuters calculations. Both benchmarks climbed about 2% on Tuesday to a two-week high, driven by worries about supply disruption and expectations that OPEC member Iran would reject a U.S. nuclear deal proposal key to easing sanctions on it. Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Wednesday that abandoning uranium enrichment was '100%' against the country's interests, rejecting a central U.S. demand in talks to resolve a decades-long dispute over Tehran's nuclear ambitions. Oil: War, wildfires and weak demand 'Geopolitical tensions are simmering in the background, with risks to fundamentals skewed to the upside, as Russian and Iranian oil exports remain elevated,' Barclays analyst Amarpreet Singh said in a research note late on Tuesday. Russia, however, posted a 35% decline in May oil and gas revenue on Wednesday, which could make Moscow more resistant to further OPEC+ output hikes as such moves weigh on crude prices. Saudi Arabia and Russia last weekend reached a compromise on the July output increase plan as Riyadh pushed for more and Moscow argued for a pause, four OPEC+ sources with knowledge of the talks told Reuters. U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping are likely to speak this week, days after Trump accused China of violating a deal to roll back tariffs and trade curbs. On Tuesday, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) cut its global growth forecast as the fallout from Trump's trade war takes a bigger toll on the U.S. economy.
Business Recorder
an hour ago
- Business Recorder
Pakistan open, ‘not desperate' for talks with India, says foreign minister
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is 'ready but not desperate' for talks with India, Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said on Wednesday, in remarks that underline the lack of a thaw between the two neighbours following their worst military conflict in decades. Both sides used fighter jets, missiles, drones and artillery last month in four days of clashes, their worst fighting in decades, before agreeing to a US-brokered ceasefire on May 10. 'Whenever they ask for a dialogue, at whatever level, we are ready but we are not desperate,' Dar told a news conference in Islamabad. The spark for the recent fighting between the two countries was an April 22 attack in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) that killed 26 people, most of them tourists. New Delhi blamed the incident on 'terrorists' backed by Pakistan, a charge denied by Islamabad. Dar said Pakistan wanted a comprehensive dialogue on a range of issues including water, whereas India wanted to focus only on terrorism. 'Pakistan renews its focus on Kashmir issue' 'That's not on. Nobody else is more serious than us. It takes two to tango,' he said, referring to comments by Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar that the talks should only cover the issue of terrorism. The Indian foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Dar's remarks. New Delhi has previously said that terrorism and dialogue cannot go hand in hand. Pakistan is keen to discuss water rights after India suspended the Indus Waters Treaty following the April 22 attack. The treaty guarantees water for 80% of Pakistan's farms from three rivers that flow from India.
