United States President Donald Trump has mentioned that China has reached out to talk about trade. Trump mentioned that he is reluctant to impose more tariffs on the Asian country, noting that it will delay any trade deal. Speaking to reporters, the president mentioned that the people he regards as direct envoys of Chinese President Xi Jinping have reached out several times.
Trump mentioned that he maintains a very good relationship with the Chinese president, noting that it is likely to continue. Asked if Xi himself had called, Trump replied, “Well, the same. I view it very similar. It would be top levels of China.” The latest comments are coming months after the president imposed a cummulative 145% tariffs on China, which has prompted the country to retaliate with its 125% tariffs.
On Thursday, the President mentioned for the first time that further tariff hikes could backfire. “At a certain point I don’t want them to go higher because at a certain point, you make it where people don’t buy,” he said. “So I may not want to go higher, or I may not want to even go up to that level. I may want to go to less because, you know, you want people to buy.”
Trump may provide tariff relief if China agrees on TikTok divesture
So far, it has been a game where both sides have insisted that the other side make the first move. Even so, Trump has sounded upbeat about the chances of a TikTok deal. “Well, we have a deal for TikTok, but it’ll be subject to China, so we’ll just delay the deal till this thing works out,” he said. He mentioned that selling TikTok to some of the best companies in the world will satisfy American security worries and still benefit China.
“I think it’s a good deal for China,” he said. “TikTok is good for China. And I think they’d like to see us do a deal, especially the deal that we have pretty much done.” When asked if he might offer relief to China if they agree to the TikTok divesture, he noted that nothing was off the table. “It’s a natural — if we’re making a deal. I guess we’ll spend five minutes talking about TikTok. It wouldn’t take very long,” he said.
Trump also declined to talk about any timetable for new tals or easing duties. He also avoided saying if he had spoken directly to Xi Jinping, noting that any overture could reflect the personal approval of the Chinese leader. “If you knew him you would know that if they reached out, he knew exactly,” Trump said. “He knew everything about it, he runs it very tight, very strong, very smart.”
With both sides dug in publicly, it remains unclear how soon formal negotiations might resume. But Thursday’s remarks signal the White House could recalibrate its tariff strategy if it believes the two superpowers are ready to bargain on a package that revives trade flows and settles the future of TikTok in the U.S.