Trump says no immediate plans to speak to Chinese President- media

Investing.com-- U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday evening that he had no immediate plans to speak with Chinese President Xi Jinping, but that dialogue between Chinese and U.S. officials was taking place, media reports showed.

Speaking with reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump said that the U.S. was hashing out trade deals with several countries, including China, and that some agreements could “very well be” announced this week, according to comments carried by Reuters. Trump clarified that he was not speaking to Xi, but that U.S. and Chinese officials were speaking on several matters.

The President also signaled that he wanted a fair trade deal with China.

Trump said that he did not expect to reach an agreement with some countries, but that he could instead be “setting a certain tariff” for those countries in the coming weeks. 

The U.S. President had claimed in April that trade talks between Beijing and Washington were taking place, a claim that was denied by Chinese officials. But China’s commerce ministry last week expressed some openness to talks with the U.S., while claiming that U.S. officials had reached out to initiate trade talks. 

Trump was also seen softening his stance on China in recent interviews. He told NBC late last week that Beijing now wanted to reach an agreement, especially amid pressure from his steep trade tariffs. 

Trump imposed tariffs of 145% on China last month, drawing retaliatory measures of around 125% from Beijing. The bitter tariff exchange is expected to disrupt global supply chains and weigh heavily on economic growth, with several Chinese and U.S. economic readings released last week reflecting these trade headwinds. 

Trump’s China tariffs were part of a broader group of reciprocal tariffs on major U.S. trading partners. But the president had announced a 90-day extension to all other reciprocal tariffs, with analysts attributing his shift to a sudden and sharp drop in Treasury prices, which reflected waning faith in the U.S. economy.