US President Donald Trump predicted on Sunday that China would take down its trade barriers, expressing optimism despite escalating trade tensions between the world's two largest economies that have roiled global markets in the past week.
The two countries have threatened each other with tens of billions worth of tariffs in recent days and Chinese officials have said this is not the time for negotiations.But Trump administration officials have stressed that the tariffs are not yet in place and the dispute could be resolved through talks.
In a Twitter post on Sunday, Trump echoed this, saying "China will take down its trade barriers because it is the right thing to do. Taxes will become reciprocal and a deal will be made on intellectual property."
He referred to his personal relationship with Chinese President Xi Jinping and said the two men would always be friends, adding, "Great future for both countries!"
On Tuesday, Washington unveiled some $50bn worth of proposed tariffs on Chinese imports and on Thursday Trump upped the ante, directing US trade officials to identify tariffs on another $100bn of Chinese imports. He said this was "in light of China’s unfair retaliation” against the earlier US trade action.
China responded to that by saying it was fully prepared to respond with a "fierce counter strike" if the United States followed through on the new threat.
China's Commerce Ministry spokesman, Gao Feng, said on Friday that Trump's threat of another package of tariffs was "extremely mistaken" and unjustified, adding no negotiations were likely in the current circumstances.
Trade protectionism
China's state media has rallied against the United States, saying its trade protectionism actions will end in defeat and that the only option now is to hit the United States hard enough so it will "remember the pain."
On Sunday, state newspaper the People's Daily sought to tap into concern in some US business circles over the impact of Washington's planned tariffs.
"We call on the international business community including the United States industrial and commercial circles to take prompt and effective measures and urge the US government to correct its errors," it said.
Trump's chief economic adviser, National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow, has repeatedly sought in recent days to soothe concerns about a trade war, stressing that no tariffs have yet been implemented.
He reiterated that in an interview on CNN's State of the Union show on Sunday, saying, "This process might turn out to be very benign ... Maybe China will want to come round and talk in earnest - so far it hasn't, I hope it does."
The United States, charging China with unfair trade practices and theft of intellectual property, proposed some $50bn in tariffs on Tuesday - 25% tariffs on more than 1,300 Chinese industrial and other products from flat-panel televisions to electronic components.
China shot back within hours with its own list of proposed duties on $50bn of American imports, including soybeans, aircraft, cars, beef and chemicals.
