TIL Desk/World/Beijing/ China, badly hurt by increased American import tariffs, is desperate to have a trade deal with the US, President Donald Trump has asserted, as the trade war between the two economic giants appeared set to escalate in the coming weeks.
“We’re taking in billions and billions of dollars. Companies are leaving China right now and they’re coming here because they don’t want to pay the tariffs. They’re going to other countries. I can tell you China would like to make a deal very badly.
They’re getting hurt very badly by the tariffs because companies can’t pay the tariffs, so they’re leaving China,” Trump told reporters at the White House on Tuesday. Responding to questions, Trump said that China “will subsidise companies so our taxpayer” is not paying for very much of it.
“A report came out; they’re paying for very little of it. But what it’s doing is creating a fair playing field, which we’ve never had with China since the World Trade Organisation,” he said. Trump said he expects to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping very shortly, most probably on the sidelines of the G-20 Summit in Osaka, Japan, later this month.