Donald Trump has ruled out a meeting with Xi Jinping, the Chinese president, before a March 1 deadline for the US to reach a trade deal with Beijing, dashing hopes of an agreement to prevent an escalation in tariffs between the countries next month.
Mr Trump had stoked expectations of an upcoming summit with Mr Xi just last week, when he said that no trade deal would be reached with China until the two presidents met “in the near future” to agree on the “more difficult points” in their economic relationship.
On Thursday, however, the US president answered “no” when asked by reporters in the Oval Office if he would meet Mr Xi before the deadline, and shook his head.