After Trump, China says 'no time limit' on trade deal with US
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The Chinese foreign ministry said that it would defend its "legitimate and lawful interests" in negotiations with the US.
A day after US President Donald Trump said he had "no deadline" on the trade deal, China's foreign ministry echoed his thoughts saying it had "not set any time limit on when the deal will or will not be reached".
"We will not set any time limit on when the deal will or will not be reached," Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said, adding, "This agreement and these negotiations must be based on equality and mutual respect."
President Trump while speaking to reporters in London for the NATO summit said that he "liked" the idea of waiting until after the election for the China deal.
"I'm doing very well in a deal with China, if I want to make it," Trump said while asserting that "I don't think it's 'if they want to make it', it's 'if I want to make it'. And we'll see what happens."
The Chinese foreign ministry said that it would defend its "legitimate and lawful interests" in negotiations with the US.
"If we are faced with the pressure of unilateralism, protectionism, and trade bullying, we will have no choice and must take resolute and decisive measures to defend our legitimate and lawful interests," Hua added.
World stocks were hit on Tuesday after Trump warned there was no deadline for a trade deal with China. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended at 27,502.81, down one per cent.
S&P 500 shed 0.7 per cent, closing at 3,093.21, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index also dropped 0.6 per cent to 8,520.64.
Tokyo stocks closed lower on Tuesday as investors locked in profits following declines in American shares.