Trump says likely won't sign China trade deal until he meets with Xi

Trump says likely won't sign China trade deal until he meets with Xi

Trump says likely won't sign China trade deal until he meets with Xi

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with Italy's President Sergio Mattarella in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, US on October 16. (REUTERS Photo)

 

 

WASHINGTON, October 16 (Reuters): U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday said he likely would not sign any trade deal with China until he meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the upcoming APEC Forum in Chile.

 

Trump, speaking to reporters at the White House, said the partial trade deal announced last week was in the process of being formalized.

 

"It's being papered," he said.

 

Trump, Xi and other heads of state are expected to participate in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Forum being held in Santiago from Nov. 11 to Nov. 17.

 

Last week, Trump and Chinese Vice Premier Liu He announced the first phase of a deal to end the trade war between Beijing and Washington but did not offer many details.

 

China wants more talks as soon as the end of October to hammer out the details of the "phase one" pact, according to a Bloomberg report on Monday that cited people familiar with the matter.