BEIJING - China vowed Wednesday to move swiftly to strike a trade consensus with the United States, even as mixed signals on the detente from self-described “Tariff Man” Donald Trump’s administration upset global markets.
Trump sowed more confusion as he opened the door to lengthier negotiations with China, suggesting that they could extend beyond a 90-day deadline to reach a deal to avoid a massive tariff increase.
But the Chinese commerce ministry said negotiators will “actively push forward negotiations within 90 days in accordance with a clear timetable and roadmap” -- marking Beijing’s first public acknowledgement of the deadline announced by the US at the weekend. The ministry lauded Trump’s talks with President Xi Jinping at the weekend as “successful” and said it was “confident” their agreement would be implemented. The ministry vowed to start implementing “specific matters” that were agreed -- saying “the sooner the better” -- but did not provide any details.
Trump and Xi agreed on a trade war truce on the sidelines of a G20 summit in Argentina on Saturday, holding off on new tariffs and giving negotiators three months to reach an agreement.
China pledged to buy more from the United States and the White House said the two sides would negotiate “structural changes” to thorny issues plaguing relations, but few details and no dollar amounts were disclosed. But the verbal detente was broken Wednesday as China’s foreign ministry lashed out at criticism from US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.  (AFP)