President Donald Trump on Sunday expressed confidence that the U.S. and China would be able to get over their differences on trade, saying that both governments are “working well together” on the issue.
“China and the United States are working well together on trade, but past negotiations have been so one sided in favor of China, for so many years, that it is hard for them to make a deal that benefits both countries,” Trump said on Twitter.
For critics worrying about a trade war between Washington and Beijing, the president added a bit of advice — “But be cool, it will all work out!”
China and the United States are working well together on trade, but past negotiations have been so one sided in favor of China, for so many years, that it is hard for them to make a deal that benefits both countries. But be cool, it will all work out!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 13, 2018
Trump’s reassurance comes as the U.S. and China — the world’s two largest economies — have hit each other with tariffs in an escalating trade battle. The Trump administration has taken a hard line on what it says are unfair trade practices by the Chinese government, proposing about $50 billion worth of tariffs on products and technology that advance Beijing’s industrial development goals. (RELATED: Trump’s Trade Tariffs Target Ambitious Chinese Plan To Dominate Strategic Industries)
In remarks that left many puzzled earlier Sunday, Trump said he was working with Beijing to get Chinese telecommunications giant ZTE “back into business.”
President Xi of China, and I, are working together to give massive Chinese phone company, ZTE, a way to get back into business, fast. Too many jobs in China lost. Commerce Department has been instructed to get it done!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 13, 2018
The announcement seemed to directly contradict the policy of the Department of Commerce, which in April imposed a seven-year ban on sales of components to ZTE in connection with the company’s violation of U.S. sanctions on Iran. The month before, ZTE pleaded guilty in federal court to illegally selling and shipping American products to Iran.
Several U.S. intelligence agencies have warned against buying ZTE and Huawei phones. FBI Director Christopher Wray said intelligence officials are “deeply concerned about the risks of allowing any company or entity that is beholden to foreign governments that don’t share our values to gain positions of power inside our telecommunications networks.”
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