JOINT BASE ANDREWS: U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday he believes China can open its markets to U.S. goods, once again asserting that he has a good relationship with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
“I think it’s going to happen,” Trump said when asked if he thought Chinese markets could open to American products. He did not specify.
Washington and Beijing have had tense relations for years over issues including tariffs, intellectual property, human rights, the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic, cybersecurity and policies toward Taiwan, Hong Kong and Russia’s war in Ukraine.
A day earlier, Trump threatened to impose 25% tariffs on countries that trade with Iran, risking reopening old wounds with Beijing, Tehran’s largest trading partner.
China condemned Trump’s threat, and Trump did not provide details on his plan to impose tariffs on countries that trade with Iran, which is currently experiencing some of its largest anti-government protests in years.
Trump is considering how to respond to the situation in Iran, which waged a 12-day war against U.S. ally Israel last year and whose nuclear sites were bombed by the U.S. military in June.
