Trade war: Chinese president ‘very tough, and extremely hard’ — Trump

Donald Trump described Chinese President Xi Jinping as ‘very tough, and extremely hard’ after their first phone call since the US launched a trade war with Beijing.

He made the comment on social media earlier this week, expressing both respect and frustration with the Chinese leader’s negotiating style.

Both countries have accused each other of breaching the trade war deal, which Trump called a “total reset.”

The trade war escalated after Trump imposed tariffs on multiple countries, with the highest rates on China.

Beijing responded with its own tariffs on US goods, leading to tit-for-tat increases that peaked at 145%.

In May, a tentative truce lowered the US tariff on Chinese products to 30%, while China reduced levies on US imports to 10% and pledged to lift barriers on critical mineral exports.

The agreement set a 90-day deadline for further trade negotiations.

However, talks have stalled amid accusations from both sides.

After a recent phone call with Xi Jinping, Trump stated: “There should no longer be any questions respecting the complexity of Rare Earth products.”

He added at the White House: “Chinese students can come, no problem, no problem — it’s an honour to have them frankly. But we want to check them.”

Chinese media also reported that Xi warned Washington to handle Taiwan “with caution” to avoid conflict.

This warning came days after US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth called China an “imminent” threat to Taiwan.

Hegseth said Beijing was “credibly preparing to potentially use military force to alter the balance of power.”

China sees Taiwan as a breakaway province destined for reunification and has not ruled out force.

The US supports Taiwan militarily but does not officially recognise it due to the “One China” policy.

Xi told Trump the US should manage the “Taiwan issue prudently to prevent a small number of Taiwan Independence separatists from dragging China and the US into a dangerous situation of conflict and confrontation.”

The call broke months of silence between the two leaders.

The White House had suggested talks might begin early in Trump’s presidency.

Trump prefers to be personally involved in negotiations.

Beijing, however, usually appoints trusted officials to lead talks.

(BBC)

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