The back-and-forth continues between the United States and China. Donald Trump stated on Wednesday that he "likes" Chinese leader Xi Jinping, but "it is extremely difficult to reach an agreement with him," as both countries are in the midst of a trade impasse over tariffs, as reported by Afp.
"I like President Xi of China, I have always liked him and will always like him, but he is very tough and it is extremely difficult to reach an agreement with him," the U.S. president posted on his social network Truth Social, on the day when the 50% increase in tariffs on imported steel and aluminum to the United States came into effect.
On the other hand, the Chinese government has stressed that "dialogue and cooperation are the only correct option" to address relations with the United States amid trade tensions between the two powers, before criticizing the "negative measures" imposed by Washington in recent days "for unfounded reasons," as reported by Europa Press.
"Equality and respect are prerequisites for exchanges between both parties, and dialogue and cooperation are the only correct option," said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian after a meeting in Beijing between Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and the new U.S. ambassador to China, David Perdue.
He emphasized that "Wang has expressed hope that Perdue will be a trusted communicator, a mediator in differences, and a promoter of cooperation between the two countries," before highlighting that "the United States must meet China halfway" and advocate for the implementation of the "important consensus" reached in January between the presidents of China and the United States.
"China has firmly and rigorously implemented the consensus reached during bilateral economic and trade talks in Geneva," Lin said, calling it "regrettable" that "the United States has since introduced a series of unfounded negative measures that violate China's legitimate rights and interests."
"China firmly opposes such actions," he emphasized in a message posted on his X social media account, before emphasizing the need to work in line with what was agreed upon by Xi and Trump to "create the necessary conditions to get bilateral relations back on the right track."
Perdue, for his part, highlighted in a message on X that during his meeting with Wang, he "emphasized President Trump's priorities on trade, fentanyl, and illegal immigration." "Communication is vital for U.S.-China relations," added the U.S. ambassador in Beijing.
The meeting took place after China rejected on Monday the "unreasonable" accusations from the United States, which claims that the Asian giant has violated the agreement for a tariff truce announced by the two superpowers after their meeting in Geneva in early May.
The Chinese Ministry of Commerce spokesperson added that it was Washington that introduced various discriminatory restrictive measures against China that "seriously violate" the consensus reached by both heads of state on January 17, after Trump accused Beijing of "completely violating" the May agreement.
The United States and China announced on May 12 the suspension for an initial period of 90 days of a substantial part of the mutually applied tariffs, with Washington suspending the reciprocal tariffs implemented on imports from China, which were reduced from 145% to 30%, while Beijing cut tariffs on imports from the United States to 10%, down from the previous 125% before the agreement.