traditional definition of being in a recession. the second quarter gross domestic product g.d.p. shrank at annual rate of nine tenths of a percentage point. that s the second straight quarterly deficit and that checks the box, historically considered as recessionary. president biden says it s no surprise the economy is slowing down because of inflation. but he insists he has the nation on the right path and, quote: it doesn t look like a recession to me. the president also spent time today on a call with his chinese counterpart in a time increasing tension with communist china. white house correspondent peter doocy starts us off tonight live from the north lawn. good evening, peter. peter: good evening, bret. the numbers are right there in black and white. the u.s. economy shrunk for a second consecutive quarter. but, until large, well-respected groups, nonpartisan groups of economists issue some sort of a formal declaration that a recession is underway, then officials here
The US is not considering lifting current sanctions imposed on China Minister of National Defence Li Shangfu, the US Department of State announced on Monday,
all of that back. and then earlier this week when talking about the pelosi trip. he said it the defense department suggest that the defense department had a different view than the administration about whether that trip was appropriate, which, of course, invites the chinese to have this sort of rhetoric about the trip in general. so, yeah, look. auto lot of this is self-made to be honest with you. bret: this call, their, u.s. china policy seems like it is a vulnerability for the biden administration and this president are. you have china reportedly infiltrating the preserve federal reserve. you have what they are doing with their currency. have you this saber ratling with taiwan and all the things china is doing. what about this, jonna? well, actually, china policy is one of the areas where president biden has been most reluctant to change president trump s policies. they have effectively kept in place president trump s trade policies. bret: tariffs. bret: considering lifting.