President Donald Trump is ready to admit he may have met his match.
It’s not Vladimir Putin, who is still dropping bombs on Ukraine despite Trump asking him not to, or Benjamin Netanyahu, who tore up the Gaza ceasefire agreement the U.S. had helped negotiate.
Instead, the man who famously prides himself on being a master dealmaker spent the early morning hours of Wednesday complaining that China’s president, Xi Jinping, was proving to be a difficult negotiating partner.
ADVERTISEMENT
“I like President XI of China, always have, and always will, but he is VERY TOUGH, AND EXTREMELY HARD TO MAKE A DEAL WITH!!!” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post at about 2 a.m. Washington time.
The two countries have been at odds since early April, when Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariff announcements sparked an all-out trade war between the two countries. Eventually Trump raised baseline tariffs on Chinese imports to 145 percent, while Beijing retaliated with its own 125 percent import tax on American-made goods.
The two sides agreed in mid-May to lower the temperature for 90 days, with the U.S. imposing a 30 percent duty on goods from China, and Beijing reducing its tariffs on U.S.-made products to 10 percent while the two sides negotiate a longer-term solution.
Over the weekend, though, Trump accused China of having “TOTALLY VIOLATED” the agreement, while China hit back that the U.S. has “unilaterally and repeatedly provoked” new trade frictions.
One of the major sticking points is reportedly critical minerals, which were part of the tariff agreement.
The Trump administration is accusing Beijing of not opening up access to rare earth magnets as agreed to during the tariff talks, according to Bloomberg.
China’s Commerce Ministry said in a statement Monday that it firmly rejected the Trump administration’s “unjustified accusations” and vowed to take “forceful measures” to protect its interests, according to Chinese state media.
Trump is reportedly eager to get on the phone with Xi and personally hash out their differences, but so far Xi has preferred to have his advisers negotiate key issues, according to Bloomberg.
A source told Politico the president is “obsessed with having a call with Xi” because he thinks he can personally break through the noise.
The White House said on Monday the two leaders would “likely talk this week,” but the administration has been saying for months that a one-on-one conversation between the two was imminent, according to Politico.
An anonymous White House official told the outlet the call hadn’t been scheduled as of Tuesday. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian also said Tuesday he had “no information to share on that.”
The Daily Beast has reached out to the White House for comment.
Experts told Politico that the Chinese government had likely been put off by Trump’s public spectacles in the Oval House, including his berating of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his bizarre meeting with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Chinese diplomats tend to avoid putting their leader in unpredictable and potentially embarrassing situations, Rush Doshi, a former National Security Council deputy senior director for President Joe Biden, told Politico.
In response to Trump’s late-night social media post about Xi, spokesperson Lin Jian told reporters, “China’s principle and position of developing China-US relations is consistent.”
