Politics

Trump Seeks To Calm Markets With Optimism For China Trade Deal

Kyodo News/Getty Images

Saagar Enjeti White House Correspondent
Font Size:

President Donald Trump sought to calm financial markets by sharing optimism for an economic deal with China amid a trade dispute between the world’s two largest economies.

BEIJING, CHINA - NOVEMBER 9: Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump attend a welcoming ceremony November 9, 2017 in Beijing, China. Trump is on a 10-day trip to Asia. (Photo by Thomas Peter-Pool/Getty Images)

BEIJING, CHINA – NOVEMBER 9: Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump attend a welcoming ceremony November 9, 2017 in Beijing, China. Trump is on a 10-day trip to Asia. (Photo by Thomas Peter-Pool/Getty Images)

Trump also referenced a new Wednesday statement from the Chinese government who said they would immediately begin implementing certain concessions agreed upon recently in Buenos Aires at the G20 summit between the president and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Trump’s tweets come as the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 800 points Tuesday on fears of a renewed tariff dispute between the U.S. and China. Trump has pledged that if 90 days worth of talks are not successful between the U.S. and China that his administration will levy tariffs on nearly $250 billion worth of imported goods.

U.S. President Donald Trump and China's President Xi Jinping arrive at a state dinner at the Great Hall of the People on November 9, 2017 in Beijing, China. Thomas Peter - Pool/Getty Images

U.S. President Donald Trump and China’s President Xi Jinping arrive at a state dinner at the Great Hall of the People on November 9, 2017 in Beijing, China. Thomas Peter – Pool/Getty Images

“China will agree to purchase a not yet agreed upon, but very substantial, amount of agricultural, energy, industrial, and other product from the United States to reduce the trade imbalance between our two countries,” White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in an original statement on the deal. “China has agreed to start purchasing agricultural product from our farmers immediately.”

The White House also emphasized that Xi agreed “to designate Fentanyl as a Controlled Substance, meaning that people selling Fentanyl to the United States will be subject to China’s maximum penalty under the law.” The Chinese classification of the deadly chemical is expected to mitigate some U.S. deaths from the opioid crisis.

Trump noted that this fentanyl provision was the most “exciting” part of his discussions with Xi.