With Trump’s China trip in limbo, further trade talks loom: analysts

With US President Donald Trump’s trip to China postponed and the countries’ recent trade negotiations in Paris ending with no apparent breakthroughs, analysts said the world’s two largest economies are likely to hold another round of talks before Trump touches down in Beijing.

“We can see this as more of a pause than a breakthrough overall. This resembles ‘unfinished business’ between both sides,” said James Downes, director of the Europe-Asia programme at the Centre for Explanatory Research and Scientific Prediction, a US-based non-profit think tank.

“I would absolutely expect another round before Trump’s delayed visit. Neither side wants tension to overshadow this crucial event.”

The war in Iran might have complicated the talks, Downes said, as Beijing was likely frustrated by Washington’s mixing of trade demands with other imperatives.

For instance, Trump’s request for China to commit its warships to escort shipping vessels as they attempt to cross the Strait of Hormuz – a vital waterway that has been functionally blocked by Tehran since US and Israeli forces began military strikes on Iran in late February – has struck a nerve for Beijing, according to Downes.

Chinese policymakers did not want to be dragged into Washington’s increasingly unpredictable security agenda, he said, adding that both sides are now recalibrating and momentum has slowed.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, head of the American delegation in Paris, said repeatedly the postponement of the summit between Trump and President Xi Jinping was not related to China’s position on Iran.

South China Morning Post