Trump says he's with HK protesters, but trusts Xi

The complex relationship between the US, China and Hong Kong is testing Trump's diplomatic skills. File photo: AP

President Donald Trump has offered lukewarm support to Hong Kong's pro-democracy protesters, saying he trusts President Xi Jinping to resolve the crisis, as Sino-US trade talks progress.



"We're with them," Trump said of the protesters who helped deliver a landslide victory for pro-democracy candidates in local elections.



But Trump immediately backpedalled, emphasising his close ties to Xi and efforts to secure a long-delayed resolution to the trade war between the world's two biggest economies.



"We're in the final throes of a very important deal, I guess you could say one of the most important deals in trade ever," he said. "It's going very well but at the same time we want to see it go well in Hong Kong. I think it will. I think that President Xi can make that happen. I know him and I know he'd like to make it happen."



Washington and Beijing have given positive signals in the past few days about closing in on a partial trade deal, known as "phase one". However, previous predictions of success have repeatedly come and gone.



Last week, Congress passed a bill supporting the Hong Kong protesters. Trump remains on the fence over whether he'll sign the measure, something that would anger Beijing. (AFP)