Trump Says US ‘Getting Along Well With China’

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It’s “a good thing” that the United States is “getting along well” with China, President Donald Trump stated on Sunday, adding that Beijing is “paying substantial tariffs.”

The president said the United States has to “do something about the deficit” with China, which he said had reached $1 trillion under the Biden administration. The Epoch Times requested more details from the White House but did not hear back by publication time.

According to the Census Bureau and the Bureau of Economic Analysis, in 2024, the United States ran a $1.2 trillion deficit in the trading of goods, or a $0.9 trillion trade deficit when services are included.

The U.S. trade deficit with China, excluding Hong Kong and Macau, was $295 billion for goods and $262 billion for goods and services.

These figures don’t account for Chinese products that reached the United States via third countries.

Following negotiations in Geneva and London, Washington and Beijing concluded a months-long trade war with a deal. The United States reduced tariffs on Chinese goods from 145 percent to 55 percent, and the Chinese regime dropped its rate on U.S. goods from 125 percent to 10 percent.

In addition, Beijing agreed to supply necessary rare earths while Washington will continue to allow Chinese students to study at U.S. universities.

During the Fox News interview on Sunday, Trump said that while the United States needs rare earths from China, “[China] can’t fly their airplanes without us.”

The president said “everything stopped” in China when the United States hiked tariffs on Chinese imports to 145 percent.

“And we did China a favor, but we’re getting along well with China. I think getting along well with China is a very good thing, but they are paying substantial tariffs,” he added.

When it was put to him that he didn’t use the leverage he could use on China, the president said, “If I ever had to use it, I'd use it, but when there’s no reason to use it, that’s good, too.”

He added: “It’s the way the world works. That’s a nasty world.”

Commenting on reports that the Chinese regime is demanding Western buyers of rare earths to disclose sensitive business information, the president said companies “shouldn’t put themselves in that position.”

He said Beijing needs U.S. companies such as Apple “much more than they needed them two years ago,” and will treat the companies “much better” because of it.

Trump also elaborated on his earlier remark that China could “now continue to purchase oil from Iran.”

He denied waiving sanctions on Iran’s oil export but said he may do so in the future if Iran “can be peaceful” and “show us they’re not going to do any more harm.”

“One of the things I was thinking about doing: You start waiving them for countries like—if they behave themselves—Iran, where they can sell oil and they can do the things that you want to be able to do,” Trump said.

The sanctions are very powerful, and that makes it difficult, he said.

“They want them to have a good life, but they were trying to develop a bomb. And the reason you try and develop a bomb like that is to use it,” Trump said.

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