China held off from retaliating against the US after President Trump signed a bill supporting protestors in Hong Kong, as both sides remained confident that they can sign a partial trade deal in the coming weeks, officials in the US and China said, reported the Wall Street Journal.
Chinese officials involved in economic policy-making stressed that the trade negotiations are still on track and as long as the US president doesn’t implement any of the law’s measures, Beijing still has strong incentives to move ahead with the trade deal.
“It does spoil the mood, but it shouldn’t interfere with the trade talks,” said Wang Yong, a professor of international relations at Peking University, of Trump’s move. “Both sides have enough reasons to keep trade, Hong Kong and political issues on separate tracks.”
