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Donald Trump says he will stop being ‘Mr Nice Guy’ as China ‘violates agreement’
Donald Trump said that tariffs will bring US factory jobs back and boost investment, highlighting ongoing tensions between the world’s two largest economies.
US President Donald Trump on Friday said that he will no longer be “Mr NICE GUY” with China on trade, accusing the country of breaking its agreement with the United States in a social media post.
Later, speaking from the Oval Office, Trump said he plans to talk with Chinese President Xi Jinping and said, “hopefully we'll work that out,” while maintaining that China had violated the agreement.
The exact agreement Trump referred to was unclear, but his comments marked a sharp shift from recent optimism. Earlier, he had reduced his 145 percent tariffs on Chinese goods to 30 percent for 90 days to allow trade talks, while China lowered its taxes on US goods from 125 percent to 10 percent.
“The bad news is that China, perhaps not surprisingly to some, HAS TOTALLY VIOLATED ITS AGREEMENT WITH US,” Trump posted on social media. “So much for being Mr NICE GUY!”
Trump said the tariff reduction “quickly stabilised” the Chinese economy, which also eased pressure on US companies that claimed the previous high rates blocked imports of Chinese goods and threatened their businesses.
His remarks highlighted the ongoing tensions between the world’s two largest economies, as Trump aims to prove that tariffs will deliver US factory jobs and boost domestic investment.
The administration also intensified its confrontation with China this week by announcing plans to revoke visas for Chinese students studying in the US.
China says trade talks with US continue after Geneva meeting
The Chinese embassy in Washington said on Friday that the two countries “have maintained communication over their respective concerns in the economic and trade fields” since talks in Geneva nearly three weeks ago.
But the embassy also criticised the US for “abuse of export control measures in the computer chip sector and other related practices”.
Both nations are competing to develop advanced technologies like Artificial Intelligence, with the US trying to restrict China’s access to the most advanced computer chips.
“China once again urges the US to immediately correct its erroneous actions, cease discriminatory restrictions against China and jointly uphold the consensus reached at the high-level talks in Geneva,” the embassy added.
With AP inputs
