President Trump said Monday China has contacted his administration to request for trade talks to resume.
“China called last night our top trade people and said let’s get back to the table.”
— Bloomberg TicToc (@tictoc) August 26, 2019
Trump says China wants to restart trade talks during a meeting with Egypt’s President #G7Summit pic.twitter.com/VWHjo4H1nA
Details: His comments came after China's economy czar, Vice Premier Liu He, said the Chinese government is willing to negotiate with the United States in a calm manner to resolve trade issues, Reuters reports.
Driving the news: President Trump said Friday he would raise tariffs against China, hours after the Chinese government announced it would levy retaliatory duties on earlier U.S. action.
- Trump ramped up tensions at the G7 summit in France on Sunday, telling reporters that he had "no plans right now" to follow through on his emergency declaration threat to force U.S. companies to leave China but added, "If I want, I could declare a national emergency."
- And after telling reporters that he "might as well" have "second thoughts" about escalating the trade war, White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham clarified that Trump "regrets not raising the tariffs higher."
The big picture: China had vowed to continue fighting the trade war "until the end." But Reuters reports that Liu said at a tech conference in southwest Chongqing, "We believe that the escalation of the trade war is not beneficial for China, the United States, nor to the interests of the people of the world."
Editor's note: This article has been updated with new details throughout.
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