ArrowArtboardCreated with Sketch.Title ChevronTitle ChevronIcon FacebookIcon LinkedinIcon Mail ContactPath LayerIcon MailPositive ArrowIcon Print
Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S.President Donald Trump are coming to the negotiating table while under pressure at home. (Nikkei Montage/Getty Images)
China up close

How Xi Jinping's colleagues rejected an 'unequal' trade deal

A 150-page agreement was sent back to Washington, gutted and shrunk to 105 pages

KATSUJI NAKAZAWA, Nikkei senior staff writer | China

TOKYO -- Early this month, the Chinese government sent the U.S. a trade deal draft that had been slashed from 150 pages -- painstakingly assembled by both sides over five months of negotiations -- to 105.

The move riled U.S. President Donald Trump and brought progress on the trade talks to a screeching halt, as Beijing surely knew it would.

Sponsored Content

About Sponsored Content This content was commissioned by Nikkei's Global Business Bureau.

Discover the all new Nikkei Asia app

  • Take your reading anywhere with offline reading functions
  • Never miss a story with breaking news alerts
  • Customize your reading experience

Nikkei Asian Review, now known as Nikkei Asia, will be the voice of the Asian Century.

Celebrate our next chapter
Free access for everyone - Sep. 30

Find out more