President Trump said Thursday that the U.S. and China are inching closer to a comprehensive trade pact, but added that work remains before he signs off on a final arrangement.
“We’ve agreed to far more than we have left to agree to,” Trump said. “Some of the toughest things have been agreed to.”
Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that he was hopeful he’d be able to announce a deal in roughly four weeks, at which point he would hold a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the White House.{mosads}
“If we have a deal there’ll be a summit,” Trump said. “I would say we’ll know over the next four weeks … and I look forward to seeing President Xi. It will be here, and if we have a deal, then we’re going to have a summit.”
The president touted progress in negotiations following a meeting at the White House with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He, who is in Washington, D.C., to meet with Trump administration officials as part of the latest round of trade negotiations.
“We’ll probably know over the next four weeks,” Trump said of a final arrangement. “It may take two weeks after that to get it papered, but I really think over the next fairly short period of time we’re going to know, and it’s looking really good.”
Liu was similarly sanguine that the two sides are closer to an agreement following Thursday’s conversations.
The president remarked earlier in the day that China would be “buying a lot of product” from the U.S. He has been consistently bullish about the prospect of reaching an agreement with China, citing his personal relationship with Xi.
U.S. and Chinese officials have engaged in talks throughout the last several months as the two countries seek to avert an escalation in a trade war. White House officials have said they hope to reach a deal that addresses tariffs, intellectual property protections, the criminalization of fentanyl and cyber issues, among other topics.
Trump and other White House officials have been publicly bullish in recent months about the odds of signing off on a comprehensive agreement with China. Representatives from each country have traveled back and forth to meet with one another, each time speaking positively of the latest round of talks.
The two countries last year slapped billions in tariffs on the other’s imports, sparking fears of a trade war between the world’s two largest economies. Trump threatened to increase tariffs on Beijing if the two sides did not reach a deal by March 1, but delayed those penalties in light of ongoing negotiations.
Trump warned late last month that he could keep tariffs on Chinese products even after the two sides come to an agreement in order to ensure China complies with the terms of the deal.
Updated at 5:30 p.m.