Beijing, June 10: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping may hold discussions related to United States trade protectionism and potential retaliatory actions against it, on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit, Chinese vice foreign minister Zhang Hanhui has on Monday
During a media conference, the Chinese minister said, “Trade protectionism and unilateral policies are now actively gaining momentum, and the issue of how to respond to US pressure and trade protectionism is important not only for China… It will be reasonable if the leaders of the two countries exchange views [on the issue], and we hope that they will reach a broad consensus on issues of upholding justice and opposing trade protectionism.”
According to Sputnik news reports, Zhang has also specified Modi and Xi could also hold discussions regarding the trade war between China and the US, underlining the trade issue could become a flashpoint for negotiations during the bilateral meetings between Xi and leadership of other nations.
The next SCO summit is scheduled on June 13 and June 14 to take place in Bishkek the capital of Kyrgyzstan.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has in late May confirmed Russia’s President Vladimir Putin would be holding direct dialogues with the Indian Prime Minister on the sidelines of the SCO summit.
China and the US have been trying to override their disagreements that have emerged in the wake of the decision taken by President Donald Trump last June to hit China with tariff hikes up to 25 percent on the Chinese goods worth $50 billion, in an attempt to fix the trade deficit.