U.S. president Donald Trump said Monday that he expects to visit China this year or shortly afterwards, noting that economic ties between the two countries have improved—even as he kept the door open to steeper tariffs.
“We’re going to have a great relationship with China,” Trump vowed. “They have some cards. We have incredible cards, but I don’t want to play those cards. If I played those cards, that would destroy China,” he added.
Tensions between the world’s two biggest economies have been simmering this year, especially when both countries slapped escalating tariffs on each other’s exports.
Since then, Washington and Beijing have reached an agreement to de-escalate tensions, temporarily lowering tariffs to 30% on the U.S. side and 10% on China’s part.
However, Trump kept the door open to hiking tariffs again if China did not hold up its end of the bargain.
“They have to give us magnets. If they don’t give us magnets, then we have to charge them a 200% tariff or something,” Trump said on Monday.
This month, they delayed the threatened reimposition of higher tariffs on each other’s exports for another 90 days—meaning the pause on steeper duties will be in place until November 10.
