The United States might cancel trade talks with China scheduled for early September, said President Trump as he left Washington for the weekend. “We’re not ready to make a deal, but we’ll see what happens,” said the president. “We’ll see whether or not we keep our meeting in September. If we do, that’s fine. If we don’t, that’s fine.”
During the weekend, the president renewed his contradictory assessments of China, the second-largest economy in the world. “China wants to make a deal so badly,” said Trump on social media. “At the same time, China may be hoping for a Democrat to win” the 2020 presidential election.
In reply, editor Hu Xijin of Global Times newspaper in Beijing tweeted, “China wants to reach a deal but will always reject US bullying deal. As long as Washington doesn’t change the approach of forcing a deal on China through maximum pressure, sorry, there will never be a deal no matter how long you are US President.” Hu’s comments are believed to reflect the views of Chinese leaders.