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Trump and Xi ‘will probably meet at G-20 in Buenos Aires’

This article is more than 12 months old

WASHINGTON US President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping will "probably" meet at a Group of 20 (G-20) summit next month, a US official said on Sunday, as both sides seek answers for a badly strained relationship that a Chinese official called "very confusing".

"The Presidents will probably meet at the G-20 in Buenos Aires," Mr Larry Kudlow, economic adviser to Mr Trump, said on Fox News Sunday.

But he added that trade talks with China - with each side imposing a mounting series of tariffs on the other, raising fears of a shock to the global economy - had so far been "unsatisfactory".

"The relationship has not been positive lately," Mr Kudlow said.

China's Ambassador to the US, Mr Cui Tiankai, raised similar doubts about the relationship. He said China has grown frustrated in trade talks because of conflicting signals from the Trump administration.

Mr Cui added that other ambassadors in Washington shared his frustration.

"They don't know who is the final decision-maker" in the administration, he said.

"Of course, presumably the President would take the final decision. But who is playing what role? It can be very confusing."

Chinese officials have complained before about receiving mixed signals from Mr Trump's economic team.

One Chinese official appealed in June to "our American interlocutors to be credible and consistent" while another called the US side "capricious". - AFP

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