After a U.S. senior official stated the possible talk between President Donald Trump and China President Xi Jinping this week, Trump posted on his social media claiming Xi of being a difficult person to make a deal with despite having great admiration for him.
The relationship between the two nations has been on edge lately as both sides blamed each other of violating the Switzerland trade agreement. The U.S. accused China of not making any effort in easing its rare earths exports restriction.
China also accused the U.S. of increasing its measures that block China from accessing advanced technology and plans on revoking several Chinese students’ visas.
According to the official readout, Minister Wang Yi stated to Ambassador David Perdue on Tuesday that the Trump administration has been using “groundless reasons” to impose “negative measures” which undermined China’s legitimate rights and interests. He recommended the U.S. to “meet China halfway” and collaborate to improve their bilateral relations.
Meanwhile, there is also a mention of Perdue’s remark stating Trump’s respect for Xi in the readout. An expert from Evercore ISI, Neo Wang, pointed out that China may imply that Trump is ready to talk and phone negotiation may happen soon.
The economist also added that the meeting between Perdue and Yi meant to form trust, ensuring Xi would not face any embarrassment from Trump’s remarks or actions after the call.
Perdue stated that during the meeting, he highlighted the U.S. priorities on several issues, such as trade, fentanyl, and illegal immigration, and the need to maintain two-way communication between both nations.
