On Thursday, April 17, Italian Prime Minister Merloni visited the White House and met with US President Trump. During a response to a question from reporters about concerns regarding the Chinese Communist Party leader’s visits to three Southeast Asian countries, Trump said he is not worried and that no one can compete with the United States. He also mentioned that the US has made a lot of money from China.
President Trump told reporters that he is not worried about US allies turning to Beijing because of his tariff policies.
“No one can compete with us,” Trump said at the White House. “No one.”
At the same time, Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping is visiting Vietnam, Cambodia, and Malaysia in Southeast Asia. During his visit to Vietnam, Xi urged the country’s leaders to resist “unilateral bullying.”
Regarding the US-China trade dispute, Trump also stated that he expects to reach a trade agreement with China, but he did not provide any specific details.
“We will make a deal. We will make a deal,” Trump said in response to a question about why he didn’t call Xi. “I think you will see, we will reach a very good agreement with China.”
While Trump has suspended implementing equivalent tariffs on goods from dozens of trading partners, he has retained equivalent tariffs on Chinese goods and punitive tariffs on fentanyl, totaling a high 145%.
In a subsequent meeting, Trump again talked about the tariffs imposed on Chinese goods, saying, “Other presidents did not earn 10 cents, but I have earned over $700 billion from China.”
He said the US is doing very well now and he is building a unique country.
Earlier on Thursday, Trump said, “Yesterday, I had a very productive call with the President of Mexico. Similarly, I also met with Japan’s highest-level trade representative. It was a very productive meeting. Every country, including China, wants to meet with the United States! Today, Italy!”
Following two rounds of retaliatory tariffs, most goods imported from China into the US face a 145% tariff, while most goods imported from the US into China face a 125% tariff.
The US believes there is still room for negotiations on a potential trade agreement with China. On Tuesday, White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt read out President Trump’s latest statement on tariffs against China, emphasizing that the ball is in China’s court and the US is not in a hurry to reach a trade agreement, but China needs this agreement.
Bessent, in an interview with prominent media personality Tucker Carlson, said that China needs the US market to survive, “Without the US market, they cannot survive.”
Bessent mentioned that China receives a huge capital inflow from the US through trade every year, and without this money, they cannot survive.
According to the “Hua Ri” report, Peter Harrell, former Senior Director for International Economics at the National Security Council, said in a panel discussion at Georgetown University Law School on Tuesday that China has limited ability to respond to US trade policies.
Harrell stated that China “will not replace the US as the source of demand for products produced in many developing countries.”