President says he could make a deal with America’s biggest economic rival because ‘we have a pot of gold’
US president Donald Trump says he would “rather not” impose tariffs on China, after repeatedly pledging to hit the nation with hefty import levies.
Trump said he could make a deal with America’s biggest economic rival because “we have something that they want, we have a pot of gold”.
“We have one very big power over China, and that’s tariffs, and they don’t want them, and I’d rather not have to use it. But it’s a tremendous power over China,” he said in an interview with Fox News which aired on Thursday in the United States.
When Trump took office he said 10% tariffs on all Chinese imports could kick in by 1 February – and on the campaign trail touted a levy as high as 60%.
On Friday Beijing called for the US and China to resolve their differences through “dialogue and consultation”.
“China-US economic and trade cooperation is mutually beneficial,” foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said.
“Trade wars and tariff wars have no winners and don’t serve anyone’s interests or the world’s interests,” she added.
