Trump meets Xi on G20 Osaka summit sidelines

Following a series of a trade war, Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi agreed to proceed with negotiations on the sidelines of Group 20 summit in Japanese Osaka city.

According to Chinese media outlets meeting between the two presidents was long and up to about 80 minutes and Trump confirmed after the bilateral that negotiations would continue with China.

Meanwhile, International Monetary Fund’s Managing Director Christine Lagarde welcomed the resumption of trade talks between the two powerful leaders but existing tariffs are already holding back the global economy and if the issues are unresolved a great deal of uncertainty is on the card in future.

Ahead of the G20 Osaka summit, several experts predicted a resumption of talks could be escalated on the sideline between Trump and Xi.

However, an announcement of a framework was expected from Trump as he himself had earlier had suggested to be deciding whether to hit China with more trade tariffs.

Trump had accused China in recent years of unfair trade practices. He ran for president in 2016 on campaigns like cracking down on China.

Ahead of the meeting Xi said he was ready to exchange views on fundamental issues.

He said, “Forty years on, enormous change has taken place in the international situation and China-U.S. relations, but one basic fact remains unchanged: China and the United States both benefit from cooperation and lose in confrontation.”