Trump: China wants to ‘very badly’ strike a trade deal with US
President Trump says that China wants to make a trade deal with the U.S.
President Trump on Friday signaled the U.S. is getting closer to a trade deal with China.
“I think we will make a deal with China and I think it will be a very fair deal for everybody,” Trump said while speaking to reporters from the White House. “But it will be a good deal for the United States.”
Trump also noted that talks have been progressing to the point where China seems more inclined to make a trade agreement and signaled the country may be feeling economic pressure.
“I know they want to make a deal,” Trump said. “They’ve been hit very hard. There economy has been very, very bad.”
The Shanghai Composite, China’s benchmark stock market, has dropped 19-percent this year, according to the Dow Jones Market Data Group.
The U.S. goods trade deficit with China hit a new record high climbing 4.3 percent to $40.2 billion in September, according to a Commerce Department report released Friday.
The U.S. has imposed tariffs on $250 billion worth of Chinese goods and the president hinted more tariffs can be levied if the two world’s largest economies can’t agree on a trade deal.
“[China] understands that if a deal isn’t made, we are doing very well the way we are doing it right now,” Trump said. “$250 billion at 25% and it could be elevated by another $267 billion at 25% or more” he warned.
White House trade adviser Peter Navarro told FOX Business’ Liz Claman that China’s unfair trade practices must be on the negotiating table to protect U.S. intellectual property.
“We want to make sure that China stops stealing our intellectual property, forcing its transfer. We want access to their markets and we want to make sure that we can protect the technological crown jewels of this country that will allow us to prosper going forward,” Navarro said.
On Thursday, former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer told FOX Business that 90 percent of Chinese companies use the company’s operating system but only 1 percent are paying. That afternoon the U.S. Department of Justice indicted two companies based in China and Taiwan for stealing trade secrets from semiconductor company Micron.
Trump said he spoke with President Xi Jinping on Thursday and the two leaders plan to meet at the G20 summit at the end of November in Argentina.