Trump plays up prospects of 'fair deal' on trade with China

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump late on Wednesday played up prospects of a "fair deal" on trade with China, but his top officials offered few details of how Washington might de-escalate its damaging tariff war with Beijing. Trump told reporters his country would have a "fair deal with China," adding that "everything's active" when asked if Washington was talking to Beijing. But how soon the tariffs can be lowered "depends on them," Trump said, referring to Beijing, even as he maintained that he gets along "very well" with Chinese President Xi Jinping and hopes they can reach an agreement.
The Trump administration would look at lowering tariffs on imported Chinese goods from their current level of 145% to possibly between 50% and 65%, pending talks with Beijing, Reuters reported on Wednesday, citing a source familiar with the matter.
Despite signals that Washington is looking towards a fair agreement, the state of discussions remains murky. Asked if there is direct US contact with China on trade, Trump said: "Every day."
China, however, on Thursday clarified it has not held trade any talks with Washington. "China and the US have not conducted consultations or negotiations on tariffs, let alone reached an agreement," foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said, calling reports of such information "false news". But Trump refuted Chinese claims. "They had a meeting this morning," Trump told reporters, declining to say to whom he was referring. "It doesn't matter who 'they' is. We may reveal it later, but they had meetings this morning, and we've been meeting with China."

China's commerce ministry spokesperson He Yadong, meanwhile, said on Thursday that the US should remove all "unilateral tariff measures" against China "if it truly wanted" to solve the trade issue. "The person who tied the bell must untie it," he said. China's He also urged the US to pay attention to the "rational voices" of the international community and domestic parties.