US will not back down until China stops cheating workers, stealing jobs: Trump

The US will not "not back down" until China stops cheating American workers and stealing its jobs, President Donald Trump has said, as a top Chinese official started talks with his American counterparts on a trade deal.

Asserting that the "era of economic surrender is over", Trump on Wednesday night said that he has announced to increase tariff on about USD 200 billion worth of Chinese products from 10 per cent to 25 per cent.

"We won't back down until China stops cheating our workers and stealing their jobs and that is what's going to happen. Otherwise, we don't have to do business with them. We don't have to do business. We can make the product right here if we have to like we used to. Remember like we used to," Trump said amidst applause from his supporters in Florida.

Trump had agreed to pause his proposed increase in import tariff from China after he and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping last December agreed to conclude a trade deal in 100 days.

The deadline could not be met, but Trump deferred his decision on imposing new tariffs of Chinese products. But after China allegedly went back on its commitment which he had agreed during the negotiations and was incorporated in the trade deal, Trump announced that he is going ahead with new tariffs on import if Chinese products beginning May 10.

"The era of economic surrender is over," Trump said.

The US has a trade imbalance of more than USD 500 billion with China.

"The last administration signed a disastrous trade deal with South Korea that cost our country nearly 100,000 jobs but it was really 250,000 jobs. And if you remember our secretary of state at the time and our president at the time said this will give 250,000 jobs and he and she were right except it was for South Korea, not for us," he said.

"It's a loser and we totally renegotiated the Korea trade deal to restore these jobs and rescue the American auto industry because that was going to be a tremendous...And that deal is done," Trump said.

"Right before I came into office our nation was being signed up for a one-sided single sellout like you've never seen of the American worker and I said it's not going to happen; the Trans-Pacific Partnership was going to destroy our automobile industry like you've never seen before and our automobile industry is pouring back into our country," he said.

The previous administrations, he alleged, allowed China to freely loot US economy, plunder intellectual property and target industries for destruction.

"That is what was happening. And look President Xi is a friend of mine, a great guy but he's for China. I'm for the USA. I'm for the USA," he said.

Trump said he is not worried about the fate of the US-China trade negotiations.

"So we are going to see. They come in tomorrow and whatever happens don't worry about it. It will all work out. You know why? It always does. Don't worry about it. There is no pressure because you know we are the piggy bank that everybody wants to rob, you understand that," he said.

"So, we have the thing that everybody wants, we are now the biggest market in the world by far. I will tell you China was catching us," Trump said.