The leaders of the United States and China on Friday both underscored their desire to sign an initial trade deal and defuse a 16-month tariff war that has lowered global growth, providing a welcome boost to financial markets. Chinese President Xi Jinping, in rare comments on the trade tensions with Washington, said Beijing wants to work out an interim or ‘phase one’ trade pact, but is not afraid to retaliate when necessary. Hours later, U.S. President Donald Trump said a trade accord with China is “potentially very close,” although he insisted that any deal would have to be weighted to favor the United States after years of trade imbalances with China. Speaking on Fox New Channel’s “Fox & Friends,” Trump also urged China and Hong Kong to calm the situation in Hong Kong, wracked by months of pro-democracy protests, calling it a complicating factor in the […]