But high tariffs on China remained in place, prompting retaliation from Beijing. The country has insisted it will “fight to the end” if Washington continues to up the stakes in the trade war, and has placed 125% tariffs on US goods entering its market.
Trump has remained bullish on the subject, but signalled a major u-turn on Wednesday, telling a White House news conference that high tariffs on goods from China will “come down substantially, but it won’t be zero”.
He also appeared to soften his language towards the US’s geopolitical rival, insisting: “We’re doing fine with China,” and that he would be “very nice” to Beijing.
“We’re going to live together very happily and ideally work together,” he said.
It came after Trump’s Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in speech on Tuesday that the tariff staredown with China isn’t sustainable and that he expects a “de-escalation”.
He made the remarks during a private event in Washington for JPMorgan Chase, in which he reportedly said, “China is going to be a slog in terms of the negotiations”, according to a transcript obtained by The Associated Press.
He added that: “Neither side thinks the status quo is sustainable.”
Details of the speech were confirmed to AP by two people familiar with the remarks who insisted on anonymity to discuss them.
The S&P 500 stock index jumped by 2.5% after Bloomberg News initially reported the senior Cabinet member’s remarks, as per the news agency.
