*By Chloe Aiello*
President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are reportedly considering a meeting at Trump's Mar-a-Lago Resort in March to resume trade talks. But whether or not any major developments will result is a toss-up, former State Department Senior Advisor Christian Whiton told Cheddar.
"It's still a coin toss as to whether or not there's a big deal, but Wall Street seems to take it for granted. I think it's less likely, and what's more likely, it's going to be a very long-term process of jousting," said Whiton, who served as an advisor for both Trump and former President George W. Bush.
[Axios reported](https://www.axios.com/trump-xi-china-trade-war-mar-a-lago-37bb245b-9ffa-455e-bc82-499c3c32d7e2.html) on Sunday that Trump's advisers have discussed hosting a summit at the president's Palm Beach, Fla., resort in an attempt to resolve the ongoing trade standoff between the U.S. and China. Sources informed Axios that the summit could come as soon as mid-March, although neither the date nor the location have been officially set.
A mid-March summit would come after the March 2 deadline Trump set to hike tariffs from 10 percent to 25 percent on $200 billion in Chinese goods. Whiton said the summit could potentially lead to further delays.
"My guess is that if a summit was scheduled, it would be hard for the administration to go ahead with that increase," he said. "Having said that, there is some jousting within the administration between hardliners ... who want tariffs on sooner as added pressure, and the Wall Street crowd."
Whiton also said that China has done little to address major concerns over intellectual property theft and anti-competitive behaviors.
"What I understand is China really hasn't been that forthcoming in the systemic reform that Trump really wants, and frankly that there is bipartisan consensus for," he said. "They are sort of saying, 'meet us halfway on those things.' But that is extremely hard to do."
Trump has been pushing for adjustments in trade policies with China even before he stepped into the Oval Office. The two powers have been tangled in a retaliatory trade war since Trump first leveraged tariffs in early 2018.
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/white-house-reportedly-considering-mar-a-lago-for-u-s-china-trade-summit).
In a post-election press conference, President Trump vacillated between subdued and combative as he called Tuesday's election ー in which Democrats took control of the House and several pivotal governorships ー a "very close-to-complete victory."
The Democrats may not have gotten quite the blue wave they were hoping for ー but for women in politics, Election Day was an indisputable success. "I think the night was better than you thought it would be going in. I'm seeing something like a pink tsunami, compared to that Democratic blue wave," Bustle senior political correspondent Erin Delmore told Cheddar on Wednesday.
Microsoft will continue to provide technology to U.S. agencies and the military, despite the objections raised by employees over how the products are being used, specifically with regard to immigration and border control. "We will be proactive in using our voice," said Microsoft President Brad Smith, speaking to Cheddar from the 2018 Web Summit in Lisbon, Portugal. "We think we'll be more persuasive if we're engaged than if we withdraw."
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know.
The 2018 Midterms may well go down in U.S. history as an election of firsts, with historic wins for Muslims, women, and LGBTQ candidates.
Michigan became the first Midwestern state to fully legalize recreational marijuana on Tuesday ー one of four states with marijuana-related legislation on the ballot in the 2018 midterms. Marijuana was one of the key issues up for review on multiple state ballots on Election Day Tuesday alongside criminal justice reform.
Americans woke up on Wednesday to a different political landscape ー if not the blue wave Democrats had hoped for. On the strength of female candidates and first-time voters, the Democrats successfully flipped the House of Representatives, gaining at least 23 seats, with more than a dozen yet to be called, according to the latest race calls from the Associated Press as of Wednesday morning.
Cheddar is following the election returns as they come in.
Political fixer-turned VC Bradley Tusk doesn't think it's sufficient to just bring voters to the polls ー he wants to bring the polls to them. "We know, fundamentally, democracy works when a lot of people vote, and it really doesn't work when very few people vote," Tusk told Cheddar on Tuesday.
The nation may get greener on Tuesday night. "There's a lot more senate and congressional races in which marijuana has become an issue than ever before," Cannabis Voter Project Director Sam D'Arcangelo told Cheddar's CannaBiz on Tuesday. "Marijuana now more than ever has become an issue that politicians are talking about."
