China says US has ‘extravagant expectations’ for trade deal

A top Chinese official said Monday that “extravagant expectations” from the U.S. are hindering trade talks between the two nations, according to Reuters.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang reportedly disputed President Trump’s characterization during a Fox News interview late Sunday that the latest U.S. tariffs were imposed because China walked away from a “very strong deal.”

{mosads}“We don’t know what this agreement is the United States is talking about. Perhaps the United States has an agreement they all along had extravagant expectations for, but it’s certainly not a so-called agreement that China agreed to,” Lu said in a news briefing, Reuters noted.

Lu blamed the U.S. for the failure of the latest round of talks, which reportedly collapsed due to disputes over issues such as piracy and intellectual property theft.

The U.S. tried “to achieve unreasonable interests through extreme pressure” during the negotiations, Lu said, according to Reuters. ”From the start this wouldn’t work.”

Further talks, Lu said, would require “mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit.”

After talks broke down, the Trump administration raised tariffs from 10 percent to 25 percent on $200 billion of imports, with China responding by targeting $60 billion worth of U.S. agricultural exports. Trump has threatened another round of tariffs on Chinese imports as the trade war escalates.

Trump has insisted the U.S. is in a “fantastic position” in the ongoing trade war with Beijing and has said he expects a “very fruitful” meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the upcoming Group of 20 summit.

However, U.S. companies are increasingly pushing back on the conflict, saying the tariffs are forcing retailers like Walmart to pass on price increases to consumers.

“There are some places where, as we get tariffs, we will take prices up,” Walmart Chief Financial Officer Brett Biggs said last Thursday in an earnings call.