U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping landed in Florida on Thursday for a face-to-face meeting where Trump will face pressure to deliver trade concessions and prevent a crisis with North Korea from spiraling out of control, APA reports quoting Reuters.
The leaders of the world's two biggest economies are to greet each other at the president's Mar-a-Lago retreat in Palm Beach, Florida, late in the afternoon and dine together with their wives, kicking off a summit that will conclude with a working lunch on Friday.
"We have been treated unfairly and have made terrible trade deals with China for many, many years. That’s one of the things we are going to be talking about," Trump told reporters traveling with him on Air Force One.
Trump promised during the 2016 campaign to stop what he called the theft of American jobs by China and rebuild the country's manufacturing base. Many blue-collar workers helped propel him to his unexpected election victory on Nov. 8 and Trump wants to deliver for them.
Trump, a former real estate magnate, is still finding his footing in the White House and has yet to spell out a strategy for what his advisers called a trade relationship based on "the principle of reciprocity."
He brought his top economic and national advisers to Florida for the meeting, including Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross.
"Even as we share a desire to work together, the United States does recognize the challenges China can present to American interests," said Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, also in Florida for the meeting.
Trump, prone to angry tweets, and Xi, outwardly calm, measured and tightly scripted, with no known social media presence.
What worries the protocol-conscious Chinese more than policy clashes is the risk that the unpredictable Trump could publicly embarrass Xi, after several foreign leaders experienced awkward moments with the new U.S. president.
"Ensuring President Xi does not lose face is a top priority for China,” a Chinese official said.
U.S. labor leaders say Trump needs to take a direct, unambiguous tone in his talks with Xi.
"President Trump needs to come away from the meeting with concrete deliverables that will restore production and employment here in the U.S. in those sectors that have been ravaged by China's predatory and protectionist practices," said Holly Hart, legislative director for the United Steelworkers union.
A U.S. administration official told Reuters that Washington expects to have to use legal tools to fight for U.S. companies, such as pursuing World Trade Organization lawsuits.
"I don’t expect a grand bargain on trade. I think what you are going to see is that the president makes very clear to Xi and publicly what we expect on trade," a U.S. official told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity.
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