February 25, 2019: US President Donald Trump said Sunday he would delay a planned tariff increase on Chinese exports after both sides hailed “substantial progress” in trade talks, raising the prospect of a summit with President Xi Jinping to seal the deal.
Trump said there could be “very big news” in the next two weeks, and he planned to meet with Xi at the US leader's Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida if more progress is made.
Top negotiators met in Washington for four days of talks that ended on Sunday in an effort to resolve a months-long trade war that analysts fear could torpedo the global economy.
The United States had been due to increase tariffs on more than $200 billion in Chinese goods on March 1, but Trump said he would now delay the punitive duties following the “very productive talks”.
“I am pleased to report that the U.S. has made substantial progress in our trade talks with China on important structural issues including intellectual property protection, technology transfer, agriculture, services, currency, and many other issues,” Trump wrote on Twitter.
The official Xinhua news agency used almost the exact same language, reporting “substantial progress” on those thorny issues in the talks led by Xi's top trade negotiator, Vice Premier Liu He.
The delegations “came a step closer to realising the important consensus reached” by Trump and Xi late last year, Xinhua said.
The report said the parties also agreed to “carry out follow-ups in accordance with the instructions of the two heads of state”.
“Assuming both sides make additional progress, we will be planning a Summit for President Xi and myself, at Mar-a-Lago, to conclude an agreement,” Trump tweeted.
