Trump: Now there is no need for a trade agreement with China

Trump: Now there is no need for a trade agreement with China

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - US President Donald Trump said on Friday that there was no need to reach a trade deal with China before the presidential election scheduled for the end of 2020, stressing the strength of the US economy.

Trump, who said at the beginning of 2018 that trade wars are "good and easy to win," understands that his positions are highly anticipated on this dossier, which raises tensions in financial markets and leads to concerns about US growth.

In his bid for a second four-year term, the former New York businessman is trying to reassure American farmers, who are badly hit by the Chinese reaction to US sanctions.

"I don't think I need it before the election," Trump said at a joint news conference with Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison.

"People know that we are doing a good job," he said.

The world's two largest economic powers were engaged in a trade war, each translated by imposing tariffs on goods worth hundreds of billions of dollars. But in recent days they have issued truce signals.

However, the outcome of the negotiations, which are supposed to resume at a high level in October in Washington, is still in doubt.

There were "fruitful" discussions between Chinese and US negotiators on Thursday and Friday in Washington, in preparation for the upcoming negotiations, the US Trade Representative's office said Friday.

"We want a full agreement. A partial agreement I don't care about," said Trump, who has often been proud of his negotiating skills and denounced the negativity of his Democratic and Republican predecessors.

"It can happen quickly, but it won't be the right agreement. We have to do it right," he said.

"It is a complex agreement, especially with regard to the protection of intellectual property."

Washington is demanding that the Chinese authorities end trade practices that it considers "illegal", especially the forced transfer of US technology, substantial support for Chinese public enterprises and the seizure of intellectual property.

Trump reiterated that his relationship with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping is excellent, "but at the moment we have a small dispute."

"Our economy is very strong," he said. "China is badly damaged. We are not."

China's gross domestic product (GDP) grew 6.2 percent year-on-year in the second quarter of 2019, its lowest level in at least 27 years.