promised to “be very nice.”

 

Trump says China tariffs will ‘come down substantially,’ hinting at potential U-turn

 🕒5 minute read. Updated 5:07 AM EDT, Wed April 23, 2025

     US President Donald Trump speaks to reporters in the Oval Office of the White House on April 22, 2025                                                                  in Washington, DC. 

Hong Kong/Washington :CNN 

US President Donald Trump has signaled a potential U- turn on his trade war with China amid continued market volatility, saying the high tariffs on Chinese goods will “come down substantially, but it won’t be zero.”

Trump’s remarks, made at a White House news event Tuesday, appear to mark a rhetorical

climbdown after weeks of tough posturing and tit-for-tat retaliation that sent tariffs on

China beyond a staggering 145%.

“145% is very high and it won’t be that high,” Trump said in a question-and-answer session

with reporters in the Oval Office. “It won’t be anywhere near that high. It’ll come down

substantially. But it won’t be zero.”

Trump made the comments when asked about Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s  remarks earlier in the day that the high tariff rates between the United States and China   have  effectively embargoed trade between the economies.

Bessent said at a private investment conference hosted by JP Morgan Chase that the trade war with China  is unsustainable and he expects the battle to de-escalate in the very near future, a person familiar with the  matter confirmed to CNN.Instead of a hard break or complete decoupling between the United States and  China, Bessent told investors that the goal is to have a rebalancing of trade, the source told CNN.

  

That assessment gave a boost to a Wall Street rally that had taken shape earlier on 

Tuesday, with all three major US stock indexes hitting their highest levels of the day after

Bessent’s remarks were made public.

Asian stocks also rose on Wednesday, with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index leading the

regional gains, ending the trading day more than 2% higher. Japan’s Nikkei 225 finished 

about 2% higher and South Korea’s Kospi closed up 1.5%.

Asked about Trump and Bessent’s comments on Wednesday, China’s Foreign Ministry said.

“Claiming it wants to reach an agreement with China while constantly applying maximum   pressure  is not the right way to engage with China — and it simply won’t work,” Guo Jiakun,   a spokesperson for the ministry, told reporters at a regular news conference.

“China’s position on the tariff war initiated by the United States is very clear: We do not want   to fight, but we are not afraid to fight. If it’s to fight, we’ll fight till the end. If it’s to talk, our   door  is wide open,” he added.

Trump’s shift in tone also went viral on the Chinese internet. On Wednesday, the hashtag 

“Trump chickened out” was trending as a top topic on social media platform Weibo, racking   up  more than 150 million views.

The world’s two largest economies have slapped record tariffs on each other in a swiftly

escalating fight that has roiled global markets, disrupted supply chains and stoked 

recession fears.

So far, China has struck a defiant tone and refused to back down. Instead, it retaliated by

raising tariffs on US goods to 125%, adding more American companies on its export

control list and unreliable entity list, and restricting the export of critical minerals used in

everything from iPhones to missile systems.

Beijing also moved to exert pain on key US industries, restricting the number of Hollywood

movies shown in the country and returning at least two Boeing jets intended for use by

Chinese airlines to the US.

                              why Trump’s potential  U - turn  could  give china to uper han

‘Very nice’

Through it all, Trump has insisted that he has a “very good relationship” with Xi Jinping

while waiting for the Chinese leader to reach out – and has told his team that the US will

not make the first move, CNN reported earlier.

Rather than calling Trump to negotiate tariffs, Xi has instead launched a diplomatic charm offensive with other trade partners to push back against US efforts to use the tariff war to isolate China economically.

On Tuesday, Trump again expressed his hope for Xi to come to the negotiation table – and

 promised to “be very nice.”

Asked if the US was going to play hardball with China or Xi in order to make a deal, or if

officials would mention the Covid-19 pandemic, Trump quickly responded: “No.”

“No, no, we’re going to be very nice. They’re going to be very nice, and we’ll see what

 happens,” the president added. “But ultimately, they have to make a deal, because

 otherwise they’re not going to be able to deal in the United States, and we want them

 involved.”

“I think we’re going to live together very happily and ideally work together, so I think it’s

 going to work out very well,” he said.

 A person familiar with the Chinese government’s thinking told CNN last week that before   Trump unveiled his “Liberation Day” tariffs on April 2, China had designated a point person   for talks with the US, and that Beijing was unclear about the right contact on the US side.   Trump may want to be his own negotiator, but this isn’t compatible with how China works, 

 the source added.

Referencing hawkish or even hostile views on China expressed by Trump’s Cabinet

members, the person said Trump’s failure to reject such views suggested he condoned

them despite his public assertions about respecting and liking Xi.

Earlier this month, Beijing slammed US Vice President JD Vance for his comments about

“Chinese peasants” in an interview that has drawn widespread ire and ridicule on China’s

 internet.

Binish Eshtiaq

email,,,bina_eshtiaq@hotmail.com

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