President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that trade negotiations with China were yet to approach a conclusion, Reuters reports, but that the two sides will keep lines of communication open.
“We’ve done very well in negotiations with China but we’re not prepared to make the deal that they’d like to make,” Trump told reporters at the White House.
After tensions between Washington and Beijing quickly escalated earlier this year, the Trump administration gave its Chinese counterparts a list of demands to prevent the application of further import tariffs, including a reduction in the bilateral trade deficit and improved market access for American companies in key markets such as autos.
“We’ll continue to talk to China. I have great respect for President Xi,” Trump added. “But right now we just can’t make that deal.”