Trump moves to cool tensions over China, Iran as G7 wraps up
As he completed a G7 summit meeting in French coastal resort of Biarritz, Trump told reporters that Chinese officials had reached out by telephone and that negotiators would restart trade talks after the latest escalation in tariffs and his “order” to American companies to look for ways to pull out of China.
In another surprise, Trump also said he was open to meeting with President Hassan Rouhani of Iran within the next few weeks in response to an initiative by President Emmanuel Macron of France. If such a meeting came about, it would be the first between American and Iranian leaders since the Tehran hostage crisis of 1979-81.
Trump, who since taking office has abandoned the 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran and reimposed sanctions to cripple its economy, even said that if talks begin, he would be willing to back short-term loans to Iran secured by oil to help Tehran get through its current financial troubles. He, however, ruled out lifting economic sanctions to compensate for losses suffered by Iran.
The change in the president’s language about China was striking given the wild fluctuations in his approach over the last few days, and it seemed to reassure markets rattled by the latest escalation of tariffs on Friday. But it was not clear how concrete an opening China really had made. “We were called and we’re going to start very shortly to negotiate,” Trump said. “We’ll see what happens, but I think we’re going to make a deal.” He added that the Chinese seemed ready to agree. “This is the first time I’ve seen them where they really want to make a deal.”
Although Trump originally said the American side had received two phone calls, Beijing did not immediately confirm any, and the editor of a newspaper owned by the Chinese Communist Party wrote on Twitter that there had been no significant contacts in recent days. Asked later about that, Trump gave no details but insisted that in fact there had been “numerous calls” in the previous 48 hours.
On Sunday, Trump said he’d had “second thoughts” about the escalation. But within hours, aides rushed out statements saying that his only regret was that he had not been even tougher on China.
The developments with Iran took many by surprise. Macron, who has tried to preserve the 2015 nuclear agreement that Trump has abandoned, stunned many by issuing a last-minute invitation to Iran’s foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, to visit Biarritz. He took that further on Monday by saying he had spoken with Rouhani and was confident that if Trump met with him, the two could find a potential deal on Iran’s nuclear ambitions and what the Americans and their allies consider Iran’s destabilizing activities in the Middle East.
Trump expressed openness to a meeting with Rouhani without eagerly embracing it. “If the circumstances were correct or right, I would certainly agree to that. But in the meantime, they have to be good players. He said that Iran can be a “great nation” and that he does not seek regime change but if Iranian leaders pursue their aims at the expense of US’ national interests, “they’re going to be met with really violent force.”
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References
- ^ Trump (timesofindia.indiatimes.com)
- ^ Xi Jinping (timesofindia.indiatimes.com)
- ^ Hassan Rouhani (timesofindia.indiatimes.com)
- ^ Iran (timesofindia.indiatimes.com)
- ^ Emmanuel Macron (timesofindia.indiatimes.com)
- ^ Tehran (timesofindia.indiatimes.com)
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