BEIJING (dpa-AFX) - Blaming the trade policies of previous administrations, President Donald Trump on Thursday expressed some doubt about whether high-level trade talks with China will be successful.
Trump told reporters he tends to doubt the talks will be successful in remarks during an Oval Office meeting with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.
'The reason I doubt it is because China has become very spoiled,' Trump said. 'The European Union has become very spoiled. Other countries have become very spoiled, because they always got 100 percent of whatever they wanted from the United States.'
However, Trump also claimed he would not allow the U.S. to be taken advantage of anymore and sounded more optimistic in later remarks.
'I can only tell you this; we're going to come out fine with China,' Trump said. 'Hopefully, China's going to be happy. I think we will be happy.'
The comments from Trump come as Chinese officials have traveled to Washington for a second round of trade talks with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and others.
The president was also asked about his planned meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un after the reclusive communist country threatened to cancel the historic summit earlier this week.
'We'll see what happens. If the meeting happens, it happens,' Trump said. 'And if it doesn't, we go on to the next step.'
Trump noted that his administration and North Korea continue have negotiations about the planned meeting due to be held in Singapore on Tuesday, June 12th.
'They've been negotiating like nothing happened,' Trump said. 'But if you read the newspapers, maybe it won't happen. I can't tell you yet. I will tell you very shortly. We're going to know very soon.'
White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said Wednesday the administrations remains hopeful the meeting will take place.
The comments from Sanders came after the state-run Korean Central News Agency suggested North Korea would reconsider the meeting due in part to comments from U.S. officials.
'If the U.S. is trying to drive us into a corner to force our unilateral nuclear abandonment, we will no longer be interested in such dialogue and cannot but reconsider our proceeding to the DPRK-U.S. summit,' said North Korean First Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Kim Kye Gwan.
Kim pointed to 'unbridled remarks' by U.S. officials such as National Security Adviser John Bolton calling on North Korea to abandon nuclear weapons first and be compensated afterward.
The statement from Kim came after North Korea canceled high-level talks with South Korea planned for Wednesday over U.S.-South Korean military drills.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX