Trump Warns China Not to Wait to Make Trade Deal

President Donald Trump on Tuesday warned China against waiting out his first term in office to finalize any trade deal, saying if he wins re-election in the November 2020 presidential contest, the outcome could be no agreement or a worse one.

“The problem with them waiting … is that if and when I win, the deal that they get will be much tougher than what we are negotiating now … or no deal at all,” Trump said, as the latest U.S-China trade talks began in Shanghai.

Trump said China appeared to be backing off on a pledge to buy U.S. agricultural products, which U.S. officials have said could be a goodwill gesture and part of any final pact.

“China … was supposed to start buying our agricultural product now – no signs that they are doing so. That is the problem with China, they just don’t come through,” Trump wrote.

U.S. and Chinese officials restarted negotiations after talks stalled in May in a bid to end a year-long trade war marked by tit-for-tat tariffs, but must still resolve deep differences, keeping expectations for this week’s two-day meeting low.