China Cancels Trade Talks, Trump Optimistic

In response to Trump’s imposition of more tariffs, China responded with tariffs of its own and walked out of talks.

The Wall Street Journal reports China Cancels Trade Talks With U.S. Amid Escalation in Tariff Threats.

China scotched trade talks with the U.S. that were planned for the coming days, according to people briefed on the matter, further dimming prospects for resolving a trade battle between the world’s two largest economies.

On Monday, President Trump announced new tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese imports, prompting Beijing to retaliate with levies on $60 billion in U.S. goods. Mr. Trump then vowed to further ratchet up pressure on China by kicking in tariffs on another $257 billion of Chinese products.

“Nothing the U.S. has done has given any impression of sincerity and goodwill,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said at a news briefing Friday. “We hope that the U.S. side will take measures to correct its mistakes.”

The latest exchange of tariffs, which take effect this coming Monday, brings China and the U.S. closer to a full-blown trade war.

Full-Blown Trade War

It’s pretty clear a major trade war is already underway.

Merriam-Webster defines “full-blown” as “fully mature” or “being at the height of bloom”.

It’s possible the trade war is already “full-blown”, but I doubt it. Trump said he would respond if China responded and China responded.

Thus “full-blown” can only be determined in retrospect.

White House Optimistic

Despite the fact that escalations seem inevitable and no date has been set for talks, White House Optimistic on China Trade.

The United States is optimistic about finding a way forward in its trade dispute with China, but it does not have a date scheduled for further talks as it assesses Beijing’s response to the latest round of tariffs, a senior White House official said on Friday.

“We have been very clear in all of these meetings about what is … required,” the official said. “I am still optimistic that there is a positive way forward, and the president wants us to continue to engage to try to achieve a positive way forward.”

The official’s comments came ahead of a report by the Wall Street Journal that China had canceled mid-level trade talks with the United States, as well as a proposed visit to Washington by vice premier Liu He originally scheduled for next week.