This is an occasional free issue of my daily subscription newsletter, for all my Sinocism and Axios China readers:

Bloomberg reported this morning that there will be no Xi-Trump meeting this month to close the trade deal, citing three people.

As this newsletter has written, March 29 was mooted as the possible date for a Mar-a-Lago meeting. I am still hearing today that there remains a small chance a meeting could happen then, but clearly the timing is getting very tight. If USTR head Lighthizer travels to Beijing next week there may still be a chance for something to close this month, but I wouldn’t bet on it.

If the two leaders do not meet in March they may not be able to find the time to meet again until May, so unless a deal can be struck without them in the same room we may be in trade deal purgatory for a bit longer.

Thanks for reading, and if you are not already a subscriber please consider becoming one. Group and student rates are available: