WASHINGTON: United States (US) President Donald Trump has signalled a new direction in US-China trade talks and said any deal would need “a different structure”, fueling uncertainty over current negotiations.
In an early Wednesday morning post on Twitter, Trump said the current track appeared “too hard to get done” and cited difficulties such as verification, but he gave no other details about what he or his administration was looking for amid ongoing negotiations.
Representatives for the White House did not respond to a request for more information about the president’s statement.
“Our trade deal with China is moving along nicely, but in the end, we will probably have to use a different structure in that this will be too hard to get done and to verify results after completion,” Trump wrote in his post.
On Thursday, Trump’s comments on China trade talks and the launch of a US national security probe into US auto imports dented the shares of Asian automakers.
Trump’s statement comes amid the negotiations between the world’s two largest economies after potential tariffs on both sides raised fears of a trade war, even as some tensions have eased over signs of some possible progress.
Both sides claimed victory on Monday and pledged to continue talking after last week’s round in Washington produced pledges that China would import more American energy and agricultural commodities so as to trim the $335 billion annual US goods and services trade deficit with China, although there were no specifics.
“China unswervingly defends its core interests, and did not make any promise on cutting its trade surplus with the US by a specific figure,” said Chinese Commerce Ministry Spokesperson Gao Feng.
“China welcomes the US in sending senior trade delegations to China soon and hopes China and the US can work together to actively implement the measures specified in the joint statement according to the understanding both sides achieved recently in DC,” Gao added.
