Exclusive | Was this the moment US-China trade talks fell apart?
- Five days before hopes of a deal receded dramatically, a private chat between China’s Liu He and the US’ Robert Lighthizer and Steven Mnuchin changed the mood
- Claim that US side had kept adding extra demands before accusing Beijing of reneging on what was agreed
Liu, President Xi Jinping’s trusted economic lieutenant, wanted to have a quiet word with the two senior American officials in private. The three broke away from the rest of the negotiation teams. Accompanied only by a Chinese interpreter, they entered a small room at the meeting venue and stayed inside for nearly an hour.
When they emerged, they did not give any briefings or instructions to their aides. But their expressions were stern and gloomy, according to a person who was present. A sense of foreboding permeated the meeting hall, but nobody dared to ask why.
Chinese official media hit back at the announcement, saying that the additional tariffs would make it even harder to strike an agreement. At a meeting on May 13, Xi canvassed the other 24 Politburo members for their views on the latest US demands. The Politburo overwhelmingly decided that the Americans had gone too far and that China should put its foot down, according to a source.
