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Donald Trump says could ‘decouple’ and not do business with China

Donald Trump entered into a high-stakes trade war with China before reaching a partial Phase 1 trade deal in January but since shut the door on Phase 2 negotiations.

Updated on: Aug 23, 2020, 10:00:45 IST
Washington | By
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US president Donald Trump, in a Fox News interview airing Sunday, raised the possibility of decoupling the U.S. economy from China, a major purchaser of US goods.

US president Donald Trump and China's president Xi Jinping ahead of their bilateral meeting in Osaka, Japan in June 2019. (Reuters File Photo)
US president Donald Trump and China's president Xi Jinping ahead of their bilateral meeting in Osaka, Japan in June 2019. (Reuters File Photo)

In a video excerpt, Trump initially told interviewer Steve Hilton “we don’t have to” do business with China, and then later said about decoupling: “Well it’s something that if they don’t treat us right I would certainly, I would certainly do that.”

Trump entered into a high-stakes trade war with China before reaching a partial Phase 1 trade deal in January. Trump has since shut the door on Phase 2 negotiations, saying he was unhappy with Beijing’s handling of the pandemic.

In June US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said a decoupling of the US and Chinese economies will result if US companies are not allowed to compete on a fair and level basis in China’s economy.

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