National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett said on Wednesday that he was “very optimistic” about the possibility of a trade deal with China, reflecting recent changes in President Trump’s tone.
In an interview with Fox News on “Ingraham Angle,” Brian Kilmead asked the US “even trying to start talking to China again,” and mentioned a more positive tone from the president over the past two days.
“The president announces when the consultation took place — if they did,” Hassett said no matter what happens in China, the president will decide and announce it to the world.
But the White House is optimistic, Hassett said.
“It’s clear that the president and our team are open to consultations. The Chinese show that they are open to consultations,” Hassett said. “In addition, the president says that US government officials and Chinese government officials talk about a lot every day.
“But we are very optimistic about China, especially about everyone else,” he added.
Trump has tried to quell concerns about the trade war with China, saying that while he said the 145% obligation he slapped in Beijing on Wednesday is “very high”, he has expressed optimism about the possibility of a deal with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
“We’re dealing with a lot of countries now and we could be with China, but maybe we’ll do something special – you know, you’ll see what it does. Now it’s 145% and it’s very high.”
He was asked to respond to Chinese officials who said the US should stopBlackmail and blackmail ChinaTrump claimed he had a good relationship with Xi.
“There’s a great relationship between President XI and China, especially with China, but China has been charging large tariffs over the years,” Trump said. “We’re going to get along well with China. I have no doubt about that.”
But Trump also gave no indication that massive tariffs on Chinese goods would disappear anytime soon.
