President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping closed a three-day summit on Friday with tea at the White House and a tour of the National Archives, but left major disputes over trade, Taiwan, and Iran unresolved. The two sides did agree to extend their trade truce by two months and plan to meet twice more this year.
Trump and Xi ended their summit with ceremony rather than resolution. The two leaders drank tea in the White House Red Room, then rode together to the National Archives to view the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights.
Trade truce extended, deal details due Monday
The clearest result of the visit was an agreement to extend by two months a trade truce that had been due to expire on November 10, giving both sides more time to negotiate a larger deal. US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said details of the limited trade agreements reached during the visit will be released on Monday.
Greer told CNBC the US and China had agreed to exempt some key goods from trade disputes, including US agricultural and medical-device exports to China and imports of consumer and non-sensitive goods. Trump said farmers would benefit from the talks, though he gave no further detail. He also announced he and Xi would meet twice more this year — in China in November for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, and in Miami in December for a G20 summit.
Taiwan and Iran remain unresolved
Xi pressed Trump on Taiwan during the summit, seeking a public statement that Washington opposes Taiwan's independence rather than its longstanding position of simply not supporting it, and pushing for a halt to US arms sales to the island. As of Friday afternoon, Trump had said nothing substantive on the issue. Senate Democrats had criticized him on Thursday for failing to publicly address China's military pressure on Taiwan.
Trump said he and Xi had discussed Iran and that he expected a good outcome, without elaborating. US Ambassador to China David Perdue said Trump reiterated to Xi that direct or indirect support for Iran was unacceptable and received assurances China would not provide it. Beijing has denied US allegations that it has helped Iran's leaders in the conflict Trump launched in February.
Analysts expect the calm to fade
Xi described the relationship as one that had developed constructively, yet geopolitics expert Tom Christensen of the Center for Strategic and International Studies predicted the current positive tone would prove temporary given disputes over technology controls, rare earth exports, agricultural trade, Iran, Russia, and Taiwan. According to Reuters: "I expect a lot of trouble in the relationship, even on the economic front."
Source: Investing.com (Reuters)
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