ELAINE KURTENBACH
AP Business Writer
BEIJING (AP) — President Xi Jinping said Friday that Beijing wants to work for a trade deal with the United States but is not afraid to "fight back" to protect its own interests.
Echoing the upbeat tone adopted by other Chinese officials in recent days, Xi told a visiting U.S. business delegation that China holds a "positive attitude" about the trade talks.
"As we always said we don't want to start the trade war, but we are not afraid," Xi said. "When necessary, we will fight back but we have been working actively to try not to have a trade war."
Later Friday, President Donald Trump reiterated his oft-stated assertion that the world's two biggest economies are "potentially very close'' to forging a modest "Phase 1" agreement. Such an agreement w
