By Andrea Shalal
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday that he expects to work out a fair trade deal with Chinese President Xi Jinping and plans to expedite the delivery of nuclear-powered submarines to Australia, signaling both a willingness to ease tensions with Beijing and a push to strengthen defense ties with a key ally in the Indo-Pacific.
Trump made the comments ahead of bilateral talks in Washington with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
“I think we’ll be just fine with China. China doesn’t want to do that,” Trump said before boasting about the size and strength of the U.S. military.
He added, “We have the best of everything and nobody is going to mess with that…I think we’ll end up with a very strong trade deal. Both of us will be happy.”
Trump declined to comment on reports that Beijing is pressuring Washington to avoid supporting Taiwan’s independence.
(Reporting By Andrea Shalal and Jarrett Renshaw, Editing by Franklin Paul)
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