No need to have trade deal with China before 2020 elections: Trump

US President Donald Trump has said he does not feel the need to strike a trade agreement with China before the next year's presidential elections, emphasizing for a comprehensive deal with Beijing.

During a joint press conference with Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Mr. Trump yesterday said he is looking for a complete deal and not a partial deal with Beijing. The world's two largest economies have been locked in a bruising trade war since Trump in March last year imposed



tariff hikes of up to 25 per cent on 250 billion US Dollars of Chinese goods. In response, China, the world's second largest economy after the US, imposed tit-for-tat tariffs on 110 billion US Dollars of American goods.

In a statement, the US Trade Representative said deputy-level negotiators from the US and China yesterday held two-day meeting in Washington to continue discussions aimed at improving the trade relationship.