US President Donald Trump has confirmed that the United States and China are still in discussions to resolve their long-running trade war. He said this while meeting Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni at the White House. Trump shared that China had “reached out several times” to talk about tariffs.

“Yes, we're talking to China. I’d say they’ve reached out several times,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.

Even though Trump raised tariffs on Chinese goods to a record 145 per cent, he revealed that talks between the two countries have not stopped. These new tariffs came after China responded to earlier tariffs Trump announced on April 2, which he called “Liberation Day” tariffs.

When asked if he had directly spoken to Chinese President Xi Jinping, Trump avoided giving a clear answer. He said, “I’ve never said whether or not they’ve happened. It’s just not appropriate.” But when asked again if Xi had contacted him, Trump said, “You’d think it was pretty obvious that he has, but we’ll talk about that soon.”

Even with the ongoing conflict, Trump seemed hopeful. “I think we're going to make a very good deal with China,” he said. He also discussed trade tensions with the European Union during his meeting with the Italian leader.

Trump believes that it is China’s responsibility to return to trade talks. The White House shared a statement from him on Tuesday, saying, “The ball is in China’s court. China needs to make a deal with us. We don’t have to make a deal with them.”

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt read out the message and added, “There’s no difference between China and any other country—except that they’re much larger.”

In response, the Chinese government told the US to “stop threatening and blackmailing”. China said this after Trump clarified that the US is waiting for Beijing to take the next step in the trade negotiations.

 

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