Great for US, not good for China: Trump commends tariffs

Speaking on the US-China trade issue, US President Donald Trump on Wednesday said that he's happy with over "$100 billion a year in tariffs filling US coffers," adding that while this is great for the United States, it is "not good for China".

He also tried to reason out the latest setback in trade negotiations, which spurred him to threaten new tariffs on Chinese imports.

"The reason for the China pullback & attempted renegotiation of the Trade Deal is the sincere HOPE that they will be able to "negotiate" with Joe Biden or one of the very weak Democrats, and thereby continue to rip off the United States (($500 Billion a year)) for years to come...," he tweeted.

"Guess what, that's not going to happen! China has just informed us that they (Vice-Premier) are now coming to the U.S. to make a deal. We'll see, but I am very happy with over $100 Billion a year in Tariffs filling U.S. coffers...great for the US, not good for China!" he added.

This comes after China expressed "sincerity towards continuing economic and trade talks" with Washington, according to Chinese State media.

"Negotiation itself is a process of discussion, and it is normal for the two sides to have differences," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said during a press briefing on Tuesday.

Geng further stated that adding tariffs will not solve any problems. "China always believes that mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit are the premise and basis for reaching an agreement," Xinhua quoted the Chinese official as saying.

The US President on Sunday warned that he would raise tariffs on USD 200 billion of Chinese goods to 25 per cent from the current threshold at 10 per cent, as well as tax nearly all Chinese exports in the United States. He later stated that the United States loses nearly USD 500 billion dollars in trade with China every year, adding that they were not "going to be doing that anymore".

The US had earlier abstained from enforcing an increase in tariffs on Chinese imports in March, citing the progress made in trade negotiations - an approach which seems to be changing in present times.

Both Washington and Beijing had agreed to hold negotiations to resolve the trade war on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Argentina last year. Honouring this, the two countries have since held multiple rounds of talks, with Trump, until recently, commending the progress made by the two countries in working on a deal.

The US administration has been reluctant both privately and publicly to remove tariffs on China as a way to provide leverage that Beijing will keep its promises as part of any negotiation.

Trump's recent tweets are being perceived as a bid to ratchet up pressure on Beijing, as there are major sticking points which are yet to be hammered out by the two sides when they meet for negotiations again soon.