Phase 1 US-China trade deal to be ‘signed at another venue’ after Chile cancels APEC Summit
Hopes that US President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping might use the APEC summit scheduled to take place on November 16-17 in Chile to sign the first phase of an agreement on a trade deal were dashed this week when Chilean President Sebastián Piñera announced on Wednesday (October 30) that his country was unable to host either the APEC summit and UN climate change conference (COP25) slated for December 2 to 13 December due to ongoing anti-government protests.
“This is a very difficult decision, which has caused us a lot of pain because we fully understand the importance of the APEC and the COP for Chile and the world,” Pinera said. “But this decision is based on common sense. When a father has problems, he always has to give his family privilege over other matters. Likewise, a president always has to put his own people above any other consideration. ”
Soon after the announcement, Trump said that there a new location would be arranged for inking the “phase one” U.S.-China trade deal.
“China and the USA are working on selecting a new site for signing of Phase One of Trade Agreement, about 60 per cent of the total deal, after the APEC in Chile was cancelled due to unrelated circumstances,” Trump tweeted yesterday. “The new location will be announced soon. President Xi and President Trump will do the signing!”