Trump says China trade deal coming, Beijing calls for resolution of dispute

Chinese vice premier says Beijing is willing to resolve trade dispute through 'calm' negotiations

BIARRITZ, FRANCE/BEIJING: US President Donald Trump on Monday predicted a trade deal with China after positive gestures by Beijing, calming global markets that have been roiled by new tariffs from the world's two largest economies.

Trump said after a G7 summit of world leaders in Biarritz, France, that he believed China was sincere about wanting to reach a deal, citing what he described as increasing economic pressure on Beijing and job losses there.

Chinese Vice Premier Liu He, who has been leading the talks with Washington, said China was willing to resolve the trade dispute through "calm" negotiations and opposed any increase in trade tensions.

Trump cited Liu's comments as a positive sign, underscoring his seniority, and repeated his assertion that Chinese officials had contacted US trade counterparts overnight and offered to resume negotiations, an assertion that China declined to confirm.

"I think they want to make a deal very badly. I think that was elevated last night. The vice chairman of China came out, he said he wants to see a deal made," Trump told a news conference with French President Emmanuel Macron.

"The longer they wait, the harder it is to put back, if it can be put back at all. I don't think they have a choice."

The trade war between the world's two largest economies has damaged global growth and raised market fears the world economy will tip into recession.

Macron said an agreement would help dispel uncertainty that has been weighing on global markets. He said Trump had told other G7 leaders that he wanted to strike a deal with China.

The upbeat tones soothed global markets, sending US stocks higher and bolstering the US dollar, which had fallen to a 2.5-year low against the Japanese yen earlier.

The S&P 500 gained 31.27 points, or 1.10%, to close at 2,878.38, while the dollar index reversed course to trade higher, last rising 0.4%.

The Chinese yuan, which had fallen to an 11-year low in the onshore market and hit a record low in the offshore market, pared losses. In the offshore market, the Chinese yuan was last down 0.5% at 7.1684 per dollar.

Trump said he was more upbeat about the prospects for an agreement with China than in the recent past, and signalled that Washington could also reach a trade agreement with Brussels that averted tariffs on car imports from Europe.

The US leader also downplayed the prospect of new US tariffs on autos imported from Japan, after a trade deal reached by the largest and third-largest economies on Sunday.