WASHINGTON — President Trump said Tuesday that he and President Xi Jinping of China had spoken by phone and would have an “extended’’ meeting at the Group of 20 meeting next week in Osaka, Japan.
His comments were the first confirmation that the two leaders would actually meet after trade talks between the United States and China stalled in May and suggested that the two countries were once again trying to find compromise.
“Had a very good telephone conversation with President Xi of China,’’ Trump said on Twitter. “We will be having an extended meeting next week at the G-20 in Japan. Our respective teams will begin talks prior to our meeting.’’
Stocks jumped after the president’s tweet, as skittish investors took comfort in the potential for renewed discussions between the world’s two largest economies.
Progress toward a trade agreement between the world’s two largest economies had come to a halt after Trump accused China of breaking a deal with the United States and China accused the United States of failing to negotiate in good faith.
Trump officials said the Chinese government altered portions of the agreement that would require it to codify the trade deal’s provisions in Chinese law, which the United States saw as evidence that China would not keep its side of the bargain.
That prompted Trump to escalate his fight with China, raising tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods as punishment and threatening to tax an additional $300 billion worth of goods if Beijing does not agree to America’s trade terms.
On Capitol Hill on Tuesday, Robert Lighthizer, the administration’s top trade negotiator, told lawmakers that no decision had been made about the next round of tariffs against China. Lighthizer defended the president’s tough tactics before Republican and Democratic senators, who raised concerns about the trade war’s effects on American farmers, manufacturers, and consumers.
“We had an untenable situation with China, one that should have been addressed frankly a couple of decades ago,’’ Lighthizer, the US trade representative, told the Senate Finance Committee. “We view ourselves as having the most serious problem you can face in the trade space.’’
New York Times
White House reportedly explored demoting Fed chair
The White House explored the legality of demoting Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell in February, soon after President Trump talked about firing him, according to people familiar with the matter.
The White House counsel’s office weighed the legal implications of stripping Powell of his chairmanship and leaving him as a Fed governor, the people said, in what would be an unprecedented move. A replacement would have to be nominated by Trump and confirmed by the Senate.
Trump’s team conducted the legal analysis and came to a conclusion that has remained closely held within the White House, the people said, requesting anonymity to discuss internal deliberations. It isn’t clear whether Trump directed the legal review, and the people didn’t describe the outcome.
A White House official who declined to be identified said he wouldn’t comment on what he called alleged discussions from months ago. Trump’s top economic adviser, Larry Kudlow, said demoting Powell isn’t currently under consideration.
“It’s not happening today so therefore I have nothing to say on it,’’ Kudlow told reporters.
Fed spokeswoman Michelle Smith said in an e-mail: “Under the law, a Federal Reserve Board chair can only be removed for cause.’’
Bloomberg News
Orlando paper says it would not endorse Trump
The hometown paper of the Florida city where Donald Trump made his reelection announcement says it won’t endorse the president.
The Orlando Sentinel said in an editorial Tuesday that some readers may wonder how the publication can eliminate a candidate before anyone knows who his opponent will be.
The Sentinel answers that it’s ‘‘because there’s no point pretending we would ever recommend that readers vote for Trump.’’
The paper says it has had enough of ‘‘the chaos, the division, the schoolyard insults, the self-aggrandizement, the corruption, and especially the lies.’’
Associated Press
Biden suggests he has raised $20 million for campaign
Joe Biden told supporters at a Manhattan fund-raiser Monday that his presidential campaign has raised money from 360,000 donors, with an average contribution of $55 — figures that suggest he has amassed nearly $20 million.
If so, the former vice president’s haul would eclipse that of any of the other Democratic White House hopefuls in the first quarter of the year, including Senator Bernie Sanders, who reported taking in $18.2 million from about 500,000 donors. Sanders also reported another $2.5 million in transfers from previous campaigns.
Washington Post