According to Chilean President Sebastian Pinera, the cancellation was due to protests.
At the APEC Summit, Trump and Xi are scheduled to meet to discuss a possible “phase one” agreement that the two countries are close to finalizing.
This month in Chile, a proposed hike in public transport fares sparked national protests.
Chile said it was calling off the mid-November Asia-Pacific Summit on Economic Cooperation in Santiago.
The meeting was arranged for President Donald Trump and Chinese president Xi Jinping to discuss a possible “phase one” agreement that the two countries are close to finalizing.
According to Chilean President Sebastian Pinera, the cancellation was due to protests.
Said Pinera in Wednesday’s media address.“This has been a very tough decision … but it is based on the wise principle of common sense,”
“A president must always place his compatriots above all else,” said Pinera. “Our main concern is to restore public order, security and social peace for our citizens, as well as to push through a social agenda to respond to our citizens ‘ main demands.”
Last week, Chile’s government extended a state of emergency to several cities across the country as a proposed hike in public transport fares sparked protests across the country.
Chile’s decision to cancel the summit brings up the question of when the U.S. and China leaders will meet to sign a much-needed trade agreement.
Trump said the U.S. has reached a “very substantial phase one deal” with China earlier this month, saying phase two will begin “nearly immediately” after the first phase has been signed The U.S. also said a proposed tariff hike in Chinese goods on $250 billion, which was set to take effect on Oct. 15.
Trump said the deal would address issues such as intellectual property and financial services and include a promise for China to purchase $40 billion to $50 billion in US agricultural products.
The U.S. said Monday it is considering extending certain tariff exclusions to Chinese imports of $34 billion as the two nations are working towards a trade deal. Exemptions are set to expire in December on almost 1,000 products.
0 Comments