The White House’s top economic adviser cast doubt over the prospect of a ceasefire in the escalating trade war with China, saying negotiations in the run-up to a high-stakes summit this week had made no progress and a new round of tariffs was likely.
Larry Kudlow, director of the US National Economic Council, said it was up to Chinese President Xi Jinping to “step up and come up with new ideas” to break the deadlock at Friday’s G20 summit in Argentina, where he is due to meet US President Donald Trump.
“We can’t find much change in their approach,” Mr Kudlow told reporters. “President Xi may have a lot more to say in the bilateral [with Mr Trump], I hope he does by the way, I think we all hope he does . . . but at the moment, we don‘t see it.”