Trump keeps getting played by China. Trump and his administration continue to defend China’s failure to live up to the phase one deal and Trump said he canceled trade talks with China that were an opportunity for the U.S. to press China on its lagging purchases.

China has less than half their promised purchases so far and are even behind pre-trade war levels, but Trump and his administration continue to defend them and claim they’re “more than living up to” the phase one deal.

TRUMP: “They are living — they are more than living up to it.”

TRUMP: “We’re doing very well on our trade deal.”

LIGHTHIZER: “The Chinese have done a pretty good job under the circumstances of trying to abide by the agreement.”

KUDLOW: “That was originally scheduled as a normal review of the phase one trade deal, another I might add President Trump accomplishment… they’re doing basically what they should be doing, they’re buying a ton of commodities…it’s probably the best since we’ve seen in at least half a dozen years.”

Washington Post: “Trump said China was “more than living up to” its commitments under his signature trade deal. The facts show the opposite. Instead of booming past 2017 levels, Chinese purchases of U.S. goods are in decline this year.”

Wall Street Journal: “As of June, China’s purchases of all products covered by the trade pact were $33.3 billion, only at around 47% of their year-to-date targets, according to Chad Bown, a senior fellow and trade expert at the Peterson Institute for International Economics.”

Trump said he cancelled planned trade talks between the U.S. and China that were an opportunity for Trump’s trade representative to press Chinese officials on their failure to meet purchase targets.

Bloomberg: “President Donald Trump said he called off last weekend’s trade talks with China, raising questions about the future of a deal that is now the most stable point in an increasingly tense relationship. ‘I canceled talks with China,’ Trump said Tuesday in Yuma, Arizona. ‘I don’t want to talk to China right now.’”

Wall Street Journal: “For Washington, the meeting is a way to press Beijing to increase the pace of purchases.”