US President Donald Trump says China will remove its trade barriers, and that both countries will come to an on agreement intellectual property. In a tweet published Sunday afternoon, Trump also said that he and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping "will always be friends, no matter what happens with our dispute on trade."
Read more: China will fight US "at any cost" after Trump mulls $100bn in extra tariffs
The tweet comes just a few days after Trump asked American officials to identify tariffs on another $100bn (£71.3bn) worth of Chinese imports "in light of China's unfair retaliation", escalating the ongoing trade battle between the worlds two largest economies.
Despite the ongoing dispute, the US President today insisted that a deal on intellectual property with China would mean a "great future for both countries".
President Xi and I will always be friends, no matter what happens with our dispute on trade. China will take down its Trade Barriers because it is the right thing to do. Taxes will become Reciprocal & a deal will be made on Intellectual Property. Great future for both countries!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 8, 2018
China's commerce ministry responded to President Trump's most recent call for tariffs by saying that it would battle the US "at any cost." The ministry also said it would fight back by any means necessary. "We don't want a trade war, but we aren't afraid of fighting one," said the ministry statement.
Read more: European markets tumble
On Friday, the US president fired off another tweet attacking China's trade policy: “China, which is a great economic power, is considered a Developing Nation within the World Trade Organization,” tweeted the President. “They therefore get tremendous perks and advantages, especially over the US. Does anybody think this is fair. We were badly represented. The WTO is unfair to US.”
The intensifying trade confrontation has wreaked havoc on Wall Street. The Dow Jones closed 572 points down on Friday, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq was down 2.2 per cent. The S&P 500 also closed down 1.7 per cent. Shares in Boeing, which could be particularly affected by the trade battle, were among the hardest hit.
