I Want to Be Nice to China: Trump on Tariffs

U.S. President Donald Trump has stated that he does not plan to impose additional tariffs on China due to its oil purchases from Russia. He made this announcement to reporters in response to a relevant question.

Earlier, Trump had announced that he would meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea in a few weeks. “I want to be nice to China,” Trump told reporters when asked if he plans to impose tariffs against Beijing, considering that Russia is China’s largest oil supplier.

China and the U.S. are effectively in a trade war, which began after President Donald Trump imposed a 10% tariff on all Chinese imports in February 2025. In March, that was raised to 20%, and after several reciprocal measures, the U.S. tariff on Chinese goods reached 145%, while China’s tariffs on American suppliers rose to 125%.

Subsequently, the parties agreed on May 14 to mutually reduce trade tariffs to 10% for a period of 90 days. Thus, China began charging 10% on imports of American goods, while the U.S. imposed a 30% tariff on Chinese products, as a 20% tariff on fentanyl was in effect. By late spring and early summer, both sides accused each other of violating the preliminary agreements.