‘China reached out a number of times’: Donald Trump amid tariff war with Beijing

Amid a tariff war with China, United States President Donald Trump has claimed that Beijing has reached out to Washington ‘a number of times’ since he hiked a blanket China tariff to 245 per cent. Donald Trump also said that both US and China are talking to each other to deal with the trade war.

Speaking at the Oval Office, Donald Trump said, “Yeah, we're talking to China. I would say they have reached out a number of times.”

When asked if he has spoken with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Donald Trump said, “I've never said whether or not they've happened. It's just not appropriate.”

And when pressed to reveal if Xi Jinping has spoken to him, Donald Trump said, “You'd think it was pretty obvious that he has, but we will talk about that soon.”

While the US President Trump has slapped new tariffs on friend and foe alike but has reserved his heaviest blows for China, with new levies of up to 145 per cent on many Chinese imports even as Beijing has retaliated with duties on US goods of 125 per cent.

As a “retaliatory action” as per the White House, Donald Trump's new levies mean that the tariffs on certain Chinese goods are as high as 245 per cent.

What did China say on 245 per cent US tariff?

Donald Trump had earlier said that in this trade war between China and the Us, it was up to Beijing to come to the negotiating table to discuss ending their the tiff. Following this, China warned Washington to “stop threatening and blackmailing”.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said, “If the US really wants to resolve the issue through dialogue and negotiation, it should stop exerting extreme pressure, stop threatening and blackmailing, and talk to China on the basis of equality, respect and mutual benefit.”

“China's position has been very clear. There is no winner in a tariff war or a trade war. China does not want to fight, but it is not afraid to fight.”

China Commerce Ministry also said in a statement that it “noted that the cumulative tariffs on some individual Chinese exports to the US have reached 245 percent under various designations.”

“The United States has instrumentalized and weaponized tariffs to a completely irrational level,” the ministry said, adding that China would “ignore the US's utterly meaningless tariff numbers game.”

(With agency inputs)