US Trade Deficit With China “Not Sustainable”: Trump To Jinping

In a statement released by the White House yesterday (16 January), United States President Donald Trump has told his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping that the growing trade deficit between the two countries was ‘ not sustainable’, reports Bloomberg.

Trump spoke to Jinping on Monday (15 January) and discussed trade and also relations between North and South Korea. Both of them hoped negotiations would prompt Pyongyang to change its destructive behaviour.

Trump also told Jinping that he was disappointed with the growing trade deficit between the two nations. China Central Television (CCTV) – a state-run outlet – reported that Jinping told Trump that both nations must join hands to find solutions to economic and trade disputes and that they had to take up a “constructive approach” to settle disputes while opening up each other’s markets.

While Trump repeatedly criticised China during his 2016 election campaign, he softened up during his first year in office, and even praised him. However, relations have been strained off-late with Beijing resisting Trump’s harsh sanctions on Pyongyang.

The United States’ trade deficit with China was $347 billion in 2016 due to it imports worth $463 billion and exports of only $116 billion.