Trump: China wants to make a deal, but do I?
President Trump has an important trade meeting scheduled for Friday.
Trump announced in a Thursday morning tweet that he will meet with Liu He, China's vice premier and chief trade negotiator, at the White House.
“Big day of negotiations with China,” the president tweeted. “They want to make a deal, but do I? I meet with the Vice Premier tomorrow at The White House.”
The president’s tweet seems to put to rest earlier reports indicating Chinese negotiators would leave Washington after just one day of trade talks. Discussions are scheduled for Thursday and Friday.
The announcement of Friday's meeting is the latest in a series of headlines that have swung the stock market this week.
The Trump administration on Monday evening added 28 Chinese companies to its entity list, barring them from doing business with the U.S. In addition, the administration restricted visas for Chinese officials and said it was considering limiting government pension fund investments in China and that it would form a "study group" to review Chinese listings on U.S. stock exchanges.
A Bloomberg report out Tuesday morning suggested China would be open to a partial deal that included Beijing agreeing to non-core concessions, like increasing its purchases of agricultural products, in exchange for the U.S. not imposing more tariffs on Chinese goods.
GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE
In a separate report, The Financial Times said China is offering to purchase 50 percent more U.S. agricultural products, raising its total to $30 billion annually.
Opinions are mixed on whether a trade agreement is close.
Texas Rep. Kevin Brady on Wednesday told FOX Business' Stuart Varney that he thinks the "sweet spot" for China to reach a deal is between now and the end of the year.
“Next year will not get prettier for China in a presidential election year,” he said.
But Bill Reninsch, Center for Strategic and International Studies Scholl chairman and senior adviser disagrees. He says it is Trump who will want to drag out the negotiations.
"“The way out for him is to make the deal about in October of 2020 … when there is not time for it to fail before people vote,” Reinsch told FOX Business. “In December everybody finds out it’s phony — fine — the election's over. What you don't want is everyone taking it apart now, or over the next eight months.”