President Trump damped expectations for a promised phase-two trade pact with China on Friday, saying the relationship between the countries has been too badly damaged by the coronavirus pandemic, reported the Wall Street Journal.
“I don’t think about it now,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One, where he criticized China’s response to the new coronavirus, which continues to spread rapidly throughout the US “They could have stopped the plague, they could have stopped it, they didn’t stop it.”
The economic fallout from the pandemic also made it increasingly unlikely that China would meet its targets for expanded purchases of US goods under the phase-one deal, fueling further doubts about prospects for new talks.
“It’s not feasible to expect phase two to start until phase one is implemented and the overall environment of the US-China relationship improves,” said Myron Brilliant, executive vice president and head of international affairs at the US Chamber of Commerce.
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