Kudlow: White House never anticipated a trade deal with China

White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said on Sunday that the Trump administration never anticipated reaching a trade deal with China and that there was only a “communique” between the two countries. 

“There’s no agreement for a deal. We never anticipated one. There’s a communique between the two great countries, that’s all,” Kudlow told ABC’s George Stephanopoulos on “This Week.”

NEC Dir. Larry Kudlow tells @gstephanopoulos following trade talks with China: “There’s no agreement for a deal, we never anticipated one, there’s a communique between the two great countries. That’s all.” #ThisWeek pic.twitter.com/oj6goENJFA

— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) May 20, 2018

“And in that communique, you can see where we’re going next. For example, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross going over to China. He’s going to be looking into a number of areas where we’re going to have greatly significant increases, energy, for example, [liquefied natural gas], for example, agriculture, manufacturing,” he continued. 

Kudlow’s comments come after the two countries wrapped up trade talks in Washington on Friday following months of increased tensions. 

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The Trump administration had proposed stiff tariffs on $150 billion in Chinese products last month. In turn, Beijing threatened duties on $50 billion in U.S. products. The tit-for-tat has raised concerns of a looming trade war between the world’s two largest economies.

Despite the tensions from last month, Kudlow said on Sunday that progress was made during the recent meetings. 

“We made a lot of progress here in Washington and built on what happened in China a couple weeks back. The president is in a very positive mood about this,” he said. 

“So, I myself, am very encouraged, because, look, at the end of the day, growth, this is good for growth. This helps our farmers, this helps our ranchers, this helps our businesses.”