Trump Won’t Be Chatting with Xi About Tariffs Anytime Soon, White House Says
President Trump isn’t planning to pick up the phone and call China’s President Xi Jinping about the ongoing trade war, according to White House trade chief Jamieson Greer.
In an interview on CBS’ Face the Nation, Greer made it clear there’s no conversation lined up between the two leaders. “Right now, we don’t have any plans on that,” Greer said. He explained that talks were happening between trade officials before April 2, but since then it’s been bumped up to the leaders’ level meaning, it’s up to Trump and Xi if and when they decide to talk.
When asked if the U.S. is pushing China to sell off some of its $1.5 trillion in American assets, Greer said nope, that’s not part of the plan. Instead, he said Trump’s focus is on bringing American manufacturing jobs back home and tackling the trade deficit, which he called a global issue.
Greer pointed out that while many countries chose not to retaliate against Trump’s tariffs, China went in the opposite direction, leading to the current standoff.
Meanwhile, Xi Jinping is gearing up for a five-day trip through Southeast Asia to strengthen trade ties with countries like Vietnam and Malaysia both of which have big trade relationships with the U.S. Unlike China, Vietnam didn’t fight back with its own tariffs and instead opened talks with the U.S.
So for now, no Trump-Xi trade chat is on the calendar.
