Washington sources stated President Donald Trump has said the US and china will "very shortly" resume trade talks after a weekend of escalating tension with Beijing. He said "china called last night said let's get back to the table. So we'll be getting back to the table”. Previously on Friday Mr Trump sharply hiked tariffs on billions of dollars of Chinese imports in retaliation for fresh duties from Beijing.
Meanwhile china said it was unaware of any recent telephone call with the US on trade and the US is trying to force Beijing to reform its trade practices, arguing that American firms face an uneven playing field due to issues such as intellectual property theft. Furthermore US allies have pressured Mr Trump at the G7 summit in france, warning that the trade war is threatening the global economy.
Moreover the moves came after china delivered its latest trade war strike, announcing plans to hit $75bn worth of US goods with new tariffs and hikes to existing duties and in Beijing, foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said he had not heard that talks were about to re-start. But he said "We strongly urge the US not to miscalculate the situation and immediately cease its wrong actions. If the US implements its plan of raising tariffs, china will definitely continue to take measures and safeguard its own legitimate rights. china does not accept any threats or intimidation."
