Trump says he has received 'beautiful' letter from China's Xi
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In this file photo taken on Feb 22, 2019, US President Donald Trump watches as China's Vice-Premier Liu He (left) speaks with US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington.
PHOTO: AFP
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WASHINGTON (REUTERS) - US President Donald Trump said on Thursday (May 9) that he had received a "beautiful letter" from Chinese President Xi Jinping, as negotiations on a trade deal between the two countries continue in Washington.
"He just wrote me a beautiful letter. I've just received it and I'll probably speak to him by phone," Mr Trump said.
Later, he quoted Mr Xi as saying in the letter: "Let's work together, let's see if we can get something done."
Mr Trump said he believed it was possible to reach a deal this week, as negotiators prepare to meet again on Thursday in Washington to end a trade dispute between the world's two largest economies.
The US Trade Representative's office announced that tariffs on US$200 billion (S$273 billion) worth of Chinese goods would increase to 25 per cent from 10 per cent at 12.01am Friday (12.01pm Friday Singapore time), right in the middle of two days of meetings with a Chinese delegation led by Chinese Vice-Premier Liu He.
Mr Trump has accused China of reneging on commitments it had made so far in the talks.
"We're getting very close to a deal then they started to renegotiate the deal. We can't have that. We can't have that," he said.
