A high-stakes meeting between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping could yield a breakthrough in the quarrelsome trade relationship between the two economic superpowers.
But while both the Trump administration and Beijing are projecting optimism ahead of the sit-down, specifics about the summit remain unclear — and some experts are skeptical of the White House’s confidence.
Phil Luck, director of the economics program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said he was expecting an outcome that is “relatively minor, relatively vague” and “not awe inspiring.”
“I think, largely speaking, both us and the Chinese have started a lot of mini fires over the last few months, and we’re going to put a few of those out, basically,” he told CNBC.
The meeting — the two leaders’ first face-to-face since Trump retook the White House and began his trade war with China — is set to commence late Wednesday ET, Thursday morning local time in Busan, South Korea.
