President Donald Trump said China has been reaching out “a lot” since imposing tariffs on the foreign rival.
On Thursday, President Trump suggested to reporters that the two nations could reach a deal in as soon as three to four weeks.
“They have reached out a number of times,” Trump said, referring to high-level Chinese officials. When asked how frequently they’ve been in touch since last week – after Trump tripled his Chinese tariff increase from 54% to 145% – the president responded, “A lot.”
Trump’s comments come amid media reports that the President has indicated he is unwilling to reach out to China first amid the ongoing trade war. According to sources close to Trump, U.S. officials have been urging the Chinese to initiate a call between Xi and Trump, but so far they have not.
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When asked if he had spoken to Xi yet, Trump refused to confirm.
“I’ve never said whether or not [it’s] happened, but I have a very good relationship with President Xi, and I think it’s going to continue. They have reached out a number of times,” Trump told reporters.
The press then quickly pounced on Trump’s response, requesting the president to clarify if he was referring to Xi or other Chinese officials when he said, “They have reached out a number of times.”
“I view it very similar,” Trump responded. “It would be top levels of China, and if you knew [Xi], you would know that if they reached out, he knew exactly – he knew everything about it. He runs it very tight, very strong, very smart. And, yeah, we’re talking to China.”
The president added that if a deal cannot be reached, things will “be fine.”
“At a certain point, if we don’t make a deal, we’ll just set a limit. We’ll set a tariff. We’ll set some parameters, and we’ll say, ‘Come in and shop,'” Trump said. “They always have a right not to do it, so they can say, ‘Well, we don’t want it, so we’re not going to shop there, we’re not going to shop in the store of America.’ We have something that nobody else has, and that’s the American consumer.”
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Thank YOU, Mr. President, SAY WHAT YOU MEAN, AND, MEAN WHAT YOU SAY.
God, give our President the strength/will to stay strong against all the corrupt Globalist Establishment Elites and put the Citizens of the USA first.