Burned Once by Trump, China's Xi Wary About Fresh Trade Talks
- Chinese negotiators lost trust in U.S. counterparts: people
- Xi faces domestic pressure to avoid another misstep with Trump
The last time the U.S. and China engaged in serious trade negotiations, President Xi Jinping’s top economic aide got burned.
Following intense talks in Washington this May, Vice Premier Liu He declared that a trade war had been avoided after China agreed to “significantly increase purchases” of U.S. goods. In interviews with Chinese media, Liu said Donald Trump showed him respect as Xi’s special representative, and he had “a very strong feeling” the U.S. president wanted good relations with Beijing.