WASHINGTON – US President Donald Trump still hopes to sign a trade deal with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in coming weeks, despite Chile’s cancellation of the APEC summit where they had been scheduled to meet, the White House said yesterday.
“We look forward to finalising Phase One of the historic trade deal with China within the same time frame, and when we have an announcement, we’ll let you know,” spokesman Hogan Gidley said in a statement.
President Sebastián Piñera announced earlier that Chile could no longer hold the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit and later Cop 25 climate change conference in Santiago, due to violent unrest in the city. (More on p. 10)
Gidley said as of now there was no replacement location.
“It’s our understanding the organisation does not currently have a secondary site prepared. We’re awaiting potential information regarding another location,” he said.
Trump and Xi had been targeting a meeting on the sidelines of the APEC event in Santiago de Chile to sign an initial agreement aimed at resolving an 18-month trade war between the world’s two biggest economies.
Fox News indicates Macau as possible alternative
Meanwhile, Fox News reporter Edward Lawrence reported yesterday that China had offered that Trump travel to Macau to sign the Phase One deal, rather than the planned meet-up in Santiago de Chile.
Observers said it wasn’t clear whether US officials would be able to find an alternate venue for a meeting between Trump and Xi to ink the trade deal. Organisers of the APEC summit indicated they had no plans to hold the event elsewhere.
Demonstrators clash with riot police during protests against the government’s economic policies, in the surroundings of La Moneda presidential palace in Santiago, on Tuesday. – AFP
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