U.S. President Trump once again stated on the 5th that the U.S. and China are "very close to reaching a good deal."
He told CNBC, "It's not urgent, but I think we're going to reach a good deal."
He emphasized that the relationship between the U.S. and China, as well as between the two leaders, is very good.
Regarding media reports that he is eager to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Trump pointed out that he only wants to meet with Xi in the process of finalizing the trade negotiations.
He said: "I can meet, our (Trump and Xi) relationship is very good, but this meeting was not requested by me—it was requested by him. So when fake news claims that Trump wants to meet with China, no, I don't want to; no, it was he who requested the meeting, and if we can reach an agreement, I will most likely have a meeting with Xi Jinping before the end of the year. If we can’t reach an agreement, I won’t. You know, what I mean is, if we can’t reach an agreement, what’s the point of the meeting?"
He said: "But we (the U.S. and China) are already very close to reaching an agreement. We have a good relationship with China. I'll tell you, you’re right, when I imposed a 145% tariff, I levied tariffs because of the fentanyl problem. I once asked the people around me, 'By the way, where are we with China (in terms of tariff rates) now?' because I kept increasing tariffs. They said: 'Sir, you're already at 145%.' I said: 'You must be kidding.' So, I lowered it a bit, but when it (the tariff rate) reached 145%, it meant our business with China was zero, and China was collapsing at that time. China is highly dependent on the United States."
He continued: "They (media reports) keep saying that Trump really wants to go (to China); no, I don’t want to, that’s a 19-hour flight—a very long flight, but in the near future, I will go."
Trump said: "To wrap up on China—I have always had a good relationship with President Xi, except during the COVID-19 pandemic, to tell the truth, at that time I was very angry with him and basically didn’t want to talk to him. Because, frankly, it really did come out of Wuhan, and I’ve been saying that from day one. I said, I know very clearly where it (the pandemic) came from, and it really affected our relationship, but I’ve always had a good relationship with President Xi, we have a lot of respect for him, and they have a lot of respect for us."