Our Correspondent
Beijing
President Xi Jinping said on Friday that China wants to reach an initial trade deal with the United States but is “not afraid” to fight back when necessary.
As we always said we don’t want to start the trade war but we are not afraid,” Xi told former US officials and other foreign dignitaries at a meeting in Beijing’s Great Hall of the People.
“When necessary we will fight back but we have been working actively to try not to have a trade war,” he told the group, which included former US secretary of state Henry Kissinger, former US treasury secretary Henry Paulson and former Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd.
