Trump says had 'very good talk' with Xi on trade deal

[Washington] US President Donald Trump said Friday he'd had a "very good talk" with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on a partial resolution of the countries' huge trade war.

Mr Trump tweeted that China "already started large scale" increases in purchases of US farm goods, in line with the deal. However, he did not give a date for when the so-called "phase one" agreement will actually be signed.

"Formal signing being arranged," he said.

The "phase one" is a partial resolution that is expected to see China boost imports of US agricultural and other goods, while Washington has eased massive tariffs on Chinese imports.

However it falls a long way short of the fundamental changes in Chinese trade policies that Mr Trump had sought and which will now be put off to a second phase.

Mr Trump said he and Mr Xi also discussed North Korea, which is resisting US-led pressure to dismantle its increasingly sophisticated nuclear program, and also the pro-democracy unrest in Hong Kong, where Mr Trump noted "progress!"

AFP