Foreign Affairs
Trump Confronts China’s Xi Jinping On Trade: ‘This Situation Is Not Sustainable’
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President Donald Trump expressed “disappointment” in a phone call with his Chinese counterpart, confronting Chinese President Xi Jinping over the expanding trade imbalance between the two countries.
“The two leaders also discussed trade issues, and President Trump expressed disappointment that the United States’ trade deficit with China has continued to grow,” the White House said Tuesday in a statement on the call. “President Trump made clear that the situation is not sustainable.”
The U.S. trade deficit with China in 2016 was$347 billion, and the trade gap continued to grow last year, despite the president’s promises to reduce the growing deficit and address China’s unfair trade practices. (RELATED: US-China Trade Gap Is Widening Despite Trump’s Criticisms)
“The two countries should adopt constructive measures to properly settle economic and trade issues of mutual concern by opening up the market to each other,” China’s state-run Xinhua News Agency said in a report on the talks, further noting that the Chinese president proposed “making the cake of cooperation bigger.”
Trump and Xi also discussed rising tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
The two leaders “acknowledged the resumption of inter-Korean dialogue and expressed hope that it might prompt a change in North Korea’s destructive behavior.” Trump apparently told Xi that his administration will continue to advance its maximum pressure campaign to push North Korea to denuclearize.
“China is ready to continue its joint efforts with the United States and other members of the international community to achieve progress that would finally lead to a proper resolution of the issue,” Chinese state media reported.
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