Ross downplays possibility of deal between U.S., China emerging at possible meeting of leaders

Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said Sunday that President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping were unlikely to resolve the nations’ trade dispute if they meet at the G-20 summit this month, according to the Wall Street Journal.

“I think the most that will come out of the G-20 might be an agreement to actively resume talks,” Ross told the newspaper Sunday from Paris.

{mosads}If the meeting takes place, Ross told the newspaper, it could potentially set up “new ground rules for discussion and some sort of schedule for when detailed technical talks might resume.”

Talks between the U.S. and Beijing broke down in May when the U.S. accused Chinese representatives of backtracking on commitments to address issues like piracy and intellectual property.

“Even real shooting wars end with negotiation, and this will ultimately end in negotiations,” Ross told the WSJ. “Whether that will be in 10 minutes, 10 weeks, 10 months or longer, it’s not possible to judge.”

“The Chinese are the ones who precipitated the crisis;, they’re the ones that will have to end it by letting us know we’ll go back to where we were,” he added.