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Chinese President Xi Jinping is “very tough” and “extremely hard to make a deal with,” President Donald Trump admitted Wednesday.
Trump made the statement on his Truth Social platform, clarifying that he still “likes” the Chinese leader. The statement comes as Trump is expected to hold a phone call with Xi sometime this week to discuss tariff negotiations.
“I like President XI of China, always have, and always will, but he is VERY TOUGH, AND EXTREMELY HARD TO MAKE A DEAL WITH!!!” Trump wrote.
White House National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett revealed plans for Trump to speak with Xi on Sunday.
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President Donald Trump is scheduled to speak with Chinese President Xi Jinping this week. (Fox News)
“President Trump, we expect, is going to have a wonderful conversation about the trade negotiations this week with President Xi. That’s our expectation,” Hassett said Sunday during an interview on ABC News’ “This Week.”
Trump’s plans for a call come after he leveled tariffs as high as 145% on Chinese goods following the president’s reciprocal tariff plans in April, when China retaliated against the U.S. with tariffs of their own.Â
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China and the U.S. reached a preliminary trade agreement last month, which Trump said China violated in a Truth Social post on Friday.Â
White House economic advisor Kevin Hassett announced Trump’s plans to speak with Xi over the phone. (Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“I made a FAST DEAL with China in order to save them from what I thought was going to be a very bad situation, and I didn’t want to see that happen. Because of this deal, everything quickly stabilized and China got back to business as usual. Everybody was happy! That is the good news!” Trump wrote.
“The bad news is that China, perhaps not surprisingly to some, HAS TOTALLY VIOLATED ITS AGREEMENT WITH US. So much for being Mr. NICE GUY!” he added.
President Donald Trump holds a “Foreign Trade Barriers” document as he delivers remarks on tariffs in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, D.C. (REUTERS/Carlos Barria/File Photo)
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Trump’s administration is holding trade talks simultaneously with countries across the globe. They requested many of those countries to submit their best trade deal offers by Wednesday.
Fox News’ Emma Colton contributed to this report
