WASHINGTON _ President Donald Trump telegraphed flexibility about his deadline for resolving the trade war with China, saying Thursday that the disputes could only be settled by another face-to-face meeting between himself and President Xi Jinping and that he might be willing to "just postpone for a little while."
In a series of tweets and comments, ahead of meetings at the White House with China's vice premier, Trump expressed hope that a "very comprehensive transaction" could be completed by March 1. That's the deadline he has set for increasing tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese imports from 10 percent to 25 percent.
"China's top trade negotiators are in the U.S. meeting with our representatives. Meetings are going well with good intent and spirit on both sides," Trump said in the first of four tweets about China. "China does not want an increase in Tariffs and feels they will do much better if they make a deal. They are correct."
He continued in a second tweet: "No final deal will be made until my friend President Xi, and I, meet in the near future to discuss and agree on some of the long standing and more difficult points."
Trump, who relishes the flash and attention that comes with high-profile bilateral meetings with other world leaders, could meet with Xi in late February, when he may travel to Asia for a second summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. So far, no official plans for such a trip have been announced, but a meeting with Kim in Vietnam seems likely.
Trump and Xi last met in December on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina. During a working dinner at the end of that summit, the two leaders ratcheted down tensions and Trump agreed not to raise tariffs on Jan. 1, pushing his deadline back two months to allow time for talks to progress.
Now, with about a month left before the latest deadline, Trump sought to create a sense of urgency for what he called "a complete deal."
But his words seemed to undercut his attempt to pressure China by suggesting that the deadline could be extended once again.
"This isn't going to be a small deal with China. This is either going to be a very big deal, or it's going to be a deal that we'll just postpone for a little while," Trump said.
A few moments later, he muddied his message further by saying that he and Xi might simply agree to "do it on paper by March 1," suggesting that a broad framework of an agreement could be sufficient.
Trump's trade negotiators have been pushing for a long-term deal that covers a range of issues with China, including resolving the intellectual-property concerns of American companies and securing China's commitment to buying American goods and services in larger quantities to reduce the U.S. trade deficit. Trump endorsed those broad goals, even as he indicated he might stop short of achieving them.
"I have to do the real deal," Trump told reporters. "It would be so easy for me to make a deal with China but it wouldn't be a real deal."
In another tweet Thursday, Trump laid out what he wants a comprehensive deal to include: "Looking for China to open their Markets not only to Financial Services, which they are now doing, but also to our Manufacturing, Farmers and other U.S. businesses and industries. Without this a deal would be unacceptable!"
Although a majority of farmers cheered Trump's tougher approach to China, many have been hurt by the ongoing tit-for-tat trade war, as retaliatory tariffs have affected exports and caused prices to drop.
