Pres. Xi, Trump talk trade, exchange New Year’s greetings in phone call

World Today

Trump Xi side by side

Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump exchanged New Year’s greetings in a phone call Saturday.

But they also talked about resolving the trade dispute that has cost their economies billions of dollars.

CGTN’s Toby Muse reports. 

Trump appeared optimistic Saturday in a tweet about achieving a deal with China to settle a trade war that has roiled international financial markets.

This after what he called a ‘long and very good call’ with China’s President Xi Jinping.

If a deal is made, wrote Trump on Twitter, “it will be very comprehensive, covering all subjects, areas and points of dispute. Big progress being made.”

Chinese news agency Xinhua quoted Xi as emphasizing the importance of 2019 marking the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between the United States and China.

The trade war is estimated to have cost both economies billions of dollars, hitting autos, technology and battering agriculture.

The two sides are in a truce now as they search for a resolution to the dispute before a March deadline. That’s when U.S. tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods, originally set for January first, are expected to increase if no deal is in place.

The dispute is weighing on both countries. China is seeing its economic growth slow. U.S. stocks have surged and crashed throughout this month, but overall this December is set to be Wall Street’s worst since 1931.