US President Donald Trump has threatened to hit China with tariffs on “at least” another $300 billion worth of Chinese goods but said he thought both China and Mexico wanted to make deals in their trade disputes with the United States.
Tensions between the world’s two largest economies have risen sharply since talks aimed at ending a festering trade war broke down in early May.
While Trump said on Thursday that talks with China were ongoing, no face-to-face meetings have been held since May 10, the day he sharply increased tariffs on a $200 billion list of Chinese goods to 25 per cent, prompting Beijing to retaliate.
“Our talks with China, a lot of interesting things are happening. We’ll see what happens... I could go up another at least $300 billion and I’ll do that at the right time,” Trump said, without specifying which goods could be impacted.
“But I think China wants to make a deal and I think Mexico wants to make a deal badly,” said Trump before boarding Air Force One at the Irish airport of Shannon on his way to France for D-Day commemorations.
In Beijing, China’s Commerce Ministry struck a defiant tone. “If the United States willfully decides to escalate tensions, we’ll fight to the end,” ministry spokesman Gao Feng told a regular news briefing.