Malaysia’s trade minister made a blunt appeal for the US and China to feel a greater sense of “global responsibility” and “stop thinking only of themselves” as they try to reach an agreement to end their bitter trade war.
Darell Leiking told the Financial Times that the outcome of the negotiations between Washington and Beijing would “affect everyone” and there were already worrying signs of a slowdown in business due to the tension between the world’s two biggest economies.
On Wednesday, Liu He, China’s vice-premier, was due to attend a new round of talks in Washington with Robert Lighthizer, the US trade representative, and Steven Mnuchin, the US Treasury secretary. If an agreement were finalised, it could pave the way for President Donald Trump and Xi Jinping, his Chinese counterpart, to sign the deal later this month. But officials involved in the talks have warned that the discussions could still drag on for weeks or months or collapse altogether, leading to further escalation.