Trump ‘rips into’ China ahead of renewed trade talks
Angry tweets see the US president accuse Beijing of breaking commitments
Donald Trump has accused China of breaking past commitments just as trade negotiations were set to resume yesterday.
“China is doing very badly, worst year in 27 - was supposed to start buying our agricultural product now - no signs that they are doing so,” the US president wrote on Twitter, referring to concessions he said President Xi Jinping agreed to last month.
Markets Insider said Trump’s tweet “cast doubt on the prospect of a breakthrough between the world's largest economies,” while CNBC said Trump’s tweets saw him “rip into China”. The Washington Post said Trump is “back-peddling” on his own commitments.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Trump’s subsequent tweets about Beijing were no more conciliatory. “My team is negotiating with them now, but they always change the deal in the end to their benefit,” he wrote.
Referring to how his position might develop if he won the 2020 White House election, he added: “The deal that they get will be much tougher than what we are negotiating now... or no deal at all. We have all the cards, our past leaders never got it!”
However, Beijing says it has bought US agricultural products. The state-run media agency Xinhua said on Sunday that millions of tons of US soybeans have been shipped to China since July 19.
Trump’s raising of the rhetoric came as Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer were preparing to hold talks with Chinese economy czar Vice Premier Liu He this week. There has been a two-month hiatus in trade negotiations between the US and China.
European stocks slid following his comments, with Germany’s Dax, France’s Cac 40 and the FTSE 100 all down.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
6 charming homes for the whimsical
Feature Featuring a 1924 factory-turned-loft in San Francisco and a home with custom murals in Yucca Valley
By The Week Staff Published
-
Big tech's big pivot
Opinion How Silicon Valley's corporate titans learned to love Trump
By Theunis Bates Published
-
Stacy Horn's 6 favorite works that explore the spectrum of evil
Feature The author recommends works by Kazuo Ishiguro, Anthony Doerr, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Is inflation about to surge again?
Talking Points The Federal Reserve is cautious about Trump's policies
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
How long will Social Security remain solvent?
Today's Big Question And what can be done to fix its current precarious situation?
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
What does the FDIC do?
In the Spotlight Deposit insurance builds confidence in the banking system
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
Will Trump (and Sanders) cut credit card rates?
Talking Points Common ground is possible. But there's a catch.
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
Bitcoin surges above $100k in post-election rally
Speed Read Investors are betting that the incoming Trump administration will embrace crypto
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
What does Trump's Treasury secretary pick mean for the economy?
In the Spotlight Scott Bessent was once a Democratic donor. Now he'll serve Trump.
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
Is this the end of the free trade era?
Today's Big Question Donald Trump's threat to impose crippling tariffs 'part of a broader turn towards protectionism in the West'
By Elliott Goat, The Week UK Published
-
Big Oil doesn't need to 'drill, baby, drill'
In the Spotlight Trump wants to expand production. Oil companies already have record output.
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published