WASHINGTON/BEIJING:US President Donald Trump said on Twitter that he had a "long and verygood call" with Chinese President Xi Jinping and that a possible tradedeal between the United States and China was progressing well. As a partialshutdown of the US government entered its eighth day, with no quick end insight, the Republican president was in Washington, sending out tweets attackingDemocrats and talking up possibly improved relations with China.
The two nationshave been in a trade war for much of 2018, shaking world financial markets asthe flow of hundreds of billions of dollars worth of goods between the world'stwo largest economies has been disrupted by tariffs. Trump and Xi agreed to aceasefire in the trade war, deciding to hold off on imposing more tariffs for90 days starting Dec 1 while they negotiate a deal to end the dispute followingmonths of escalating tensions.
"Just had along and very good call with President Xi of China," Trump wrote onSaturday. "Deal is moving along very well. If made, it will be verycomprehensive, covering all subjects, areas and points of dispute. Big progressbeing made!" Chinese state media also said Xi and Trump spoke on Saturday,and quoted Xi as saying that teams from both countries have been working toimplement a consensus reached with Trump. "I hope that the two teams willmeet each other half way, work hard, and strive to reach an agreement that ismutually beneficial and beneficial to the world as soon as possible," Xisaid, according to the state-run Xinhua news agency.
China's foreignministry said on Sunday the two countries' relationship had endured stormsbefore, but that strong ties were important for the economies of both nationsand for ensuring global stability and peace. Ministry spokesman Lu Kang saidthat Sino-US ties now "stand at a historic new starting point" andthat the two sides should respect each other's sovereignty, security anddevelopment interest and appropriately manage differences. "Both sidesshould stick to rationally and objectively viewing the other side's strategicintentions, strengthen strategic communication and promote strategic mutualtrust to prevent strategic misjudgments," he said in a statement.
Government shutdown
Having canceledhis plans to travel to his estate in Florida for the holidays because of thegovernment shutdown that started on Dec 22, Trump tweeted, "I am in theWhite House waiting for the Democrats to come on over and make a deal."The Republican-controlled Congress was closed for the weekend and few lawmakerswere in the capital.
The shutdown,affecting about one-quarter of the federal government including 800,000 or soworkers, began when funding for several agencies expired. Congress must passlegislation to restore that funding, but has not done so due to a dispute overTrump's demand that the bill include $5 billion in taxpayer money to help payfor a wall he wants to build along the US-Mexico border.
The wall was amajor 2016 campaign promise of Trump's, who promised then that it would be paidfor by Mexico, which has steadfastly refused to do so. Trump has since demandedthat U.S. taxpayers pay for it at an estimated total cost of $23 billion. Hesees the wall as vital to stemming illegal immigration, while Democrats andsome Republicans see it as an impractical and costly project. The standoff overTrump's demand for funding will be a test for Congress when it returns nextweek.
Trump tweeted onSaturday that the deaths of two migrant children this month who had been takeninto US custody after trying to cross the southern border were "strictlythe fault of the Democrats and their pathetic immigration policies." Itwas unclear exactly which policies Trump was referring to, but his aides havereferred to US laws and court rulings - including laws passed with bipartisansupport - that govern the conditions under which children and families can bedetained as "loopholes" that encourage illegal immigration.
On Friday,Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen visited Border Patrol stationsin Texas after her agency instituted expanded medical checks of migrantchildren following the two deaths. She is also due to visit Yuma, Arizona, theDepartment of Homeland Security said in a statement on Saturday. In theinterim, thousands of employees of federal agencies such as the HomelandSecurity, Justice, Commerce, Interior, Transportation, Agriculture and otherdepartments were staying at home on furlough or soon to be working without pay.
For instance,members of the US Coast Guard will receive their final paychecks of the year onMonday, the service said in a statement on its website on Friday afterpreviously warning that payments would be delayed due to the shutdown."The administration, the Department of Homeland Security , and the CoastGuard have identified a way to pay our military workforce on Dec 31,2018," the service website read. That paycheck will be their last untilthe government reopens. The Federal Emergency Management Agency also said onFriday that it would resume issuing new flood insurance policies during theshutdown, reversing an earlier decision. - Reuters