Trump backpedals on China threats as trade deal shows signs of slipping away

President Trump said Tuesday that a new trade deal with China might not come until after the 2020 elections, a significant departure from more than a year of trying to exert pressure on the world’s second-largest economy.

His comments were the latest in rapidly evolving, and sometimes contradictory, strategic shifts. Less than two months ago, he announced that a huge crackdown against China was imminent. On Tuesday, he suggested that further action could be more than a year away, and everything could change based on whether he is reelected.

In...