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A computer screen shows images of Chinese President Xi Jinping, right, and U.S. President Donald Trump as a currency trader works at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, Aug. 26, 2019. Asian shares tumbled Monday after the latest escalation in the U.S.-China trade war renewed uncertainties about global economies, as well as questions over what Trump might say next. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Mixed messages on U.S.-China trade at the G-7 Summit. After a weekend of escalating tensions with Beijing, U-S President Donald Trump now sounded more optimistic.
That was after Beijing urged ‘calm’ and the need to avoid escalation. Some relief for global markets after last week’s volatility. CGTN White House Correspondent Nathan King explained more in a report.
Two days, two Trumps – On Friday he was threatening to order U.S. companies to leave China, tweeted he was going to raise tariffs, and even attacked his own central banker. But at the G-7 this weekend—a change in tone, if not substance.
Whether it was pressure from world leaders anxious over the global economic downturn, pressure from U.S. business and Wall Street, or just the latest twist in his made-for-TV and Twitter negotiating style, the U.S. President was more positive.
“He wants to see a deal made. He wants it to be made under calm conditions, using the word calm.” U.S. President Donald Trump said. “I agree with him on that.”
Trump seized on comments made by China’s top negotiator Vice Premier Liu He who restated China’s longstanding approach to the trade issue. “We are willing to resolve the issue through consultations and cooperation in a calm attitude and resolutely oppose the escalation of the trade war,” Liu He said.
Trump’s change in tone came when leader after leader, some publicly like the UK prime minister – and some more privately like the French President – related their concerns that the trade war was a drag on global growth and threatening a recession in Europe and potentially the United States.
The Trump administration also raised the prospect of talks with Beijing here in Washington in September. That date has been reported before, but the fact that Washington wants the talks to go ahead appears to be a change of tone, if not policy, during the G-7 meetings.
John Tamny on US-China trade tensions’ effect on markets
To discuss the potential for more U.S.-China trade talks and the impact on markets, CGTN’s Elaine Reyes spoke with John Tamny, editor at Real Clear Markets. He’s also an Editor with Forbes Magazine.
