U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday said he thought a trade deal between the United States and China would be signed by the time the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meetings take place in Chile on Nov. 16-17.
Chinese Vice Premier Liu He will provide Beijing’s perspective on the progress of the talks in a speech Saturday, according to a tweet from the editor in chief of the Global Times, a tabloid published under the auspices of the Chinese Communist Party’s People’s Daily newspaper.
“I think it will get signed quite easily, hopefully by the summit in Chile, where [Chinese] President Xi [Jinping] and I will both be,” Trump told reporters at the White House, without providing details.
“We’re working with China very well,” Trump also said.
The White House has announced that China agreed to buy up to $50 billion worth of U.S. farm products annually, as part of the first phase of a trade deal, although China seems slow to follow through.
The phase-one deal was unveiled at the White House last week during a visit by Liu as part of a bid to end a tit-for-tat trade war between Beijing and Washington that has roiled markets and hammered global growth.
U.S. officials said a second phase of negotiations could address thornier issues such as forced technology transfer and nonfinancial services issues.