Donald Trump, the President of the United States, and Xi Jinping, the President of China, are likely to engage in a one-on-one conversation this week. A senior White House official told CNBC that that debate should come “extremely soon.” In an unusual move, they announced that it will, indeed, not occur today.
The anticipated dialogue between the two leaders follows a series of trade negotiations that have raised tensions between their nations. Midway through this month, U.S. and Chinese officials met in Geneva. They promised to reduce the majority of their tariffs for a period of 90 days. Since then, relations have soured significantly.
In April, President Trump further increased trade tensions by announcing tariffs on all Chinese imports, increasing them to 145%. In retaliation, Beijing responded in kind with their own duties, perfectly smashing trade between the U.S. and China during that month. What we have seen unfold is a terrible mess, and it has led to finger-pointing from both camps. As the Trump administration accuses China of withholding exports of rare earths to the U.S., Beijing retaliates by threatening to use Chinese chips.
Escalating tensions are testing the limits of a tenuous trade accord. This tension is the backdrop for the conversation we’re going to have together. A spokesperson from the Chinese Commerce Ministry criticized unilateral actions, stating that they could “unilaterally provoke new economic and trade frictions, increasing the uncertainty and instability in the bilateral economic and trade relations.”