United States President Donald Trump has called Chinese President Xi Jinping “extremely hard to make a deal with”, as trade talks stall.
China and the U.S. have both accused each other of violating a previous tariff reduction deal. Trump is seeking to negotiate with Xi directly, according to the White House, though Chinese officials have yet to agree.
“I like President XI of China, always have, and always will, but he is VERY TOUGH, AND EXTREMELY HARD TO MAKE A DEAL WITH!!!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
Trump and Xi have not held any direct discussions since Trump took office in January. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Monday that Trump and Xi would likely speak this week, though Chinese officials said they had “no information to share” about any potential call.
The two countries struck a trade agreement in May to lower tariffs, with U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods dropping from 145% to 30%. Chinese tariffs on U.S. goods would be reduced from 125% to 10%.
However, China has not lowered its restrictions on rare earths exports, while the U.S. has continued to limit computer chip sales to China. Last week, Trump said China had "totally violated its agreement with us”, with China’s Ministry of Commerce arguing the U.S. had violated the deal on Monday.
U.S. Ambassador to China David Perdue met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi yesterday, with Perdue saying he had “emphasised President Trump's priorities on trade, fentanyl, and illegal immigration”.
The White House is asking trading partners to propose trade deals that would avoid U.S. tariffs this week, according to Reuters.
U.S. tariff negotiators have also reportedly sent a list of demands to Vietnam that would require it to lower its use of materials from China.
