US under no pressure to make trade deal with China, says Trump

In a move to force China to come to the negotiating table, US president Trump today said the US was under no pressure to make a trade deal with China asserting that "US market was surging" while "theirs was collapsing".

Also Read: China warns of protectionism as US trade row simmers

"We are under no pressure to make a deal with China, they are under pressure to make a deal with us. Our markets are surging, theirs are collapsing," the US president said on Twitter. 

"We will soon be taking in billions in tariffs & making products at home. If we meet, we meet?" Trump added on Twitter.

President Trump's latest potshot at China comes even as it sent an invitation to President Xi's government for talks to settle the escalating trade crisis which has divided the two countries and led to tit-for-tat trade wars weighing down world markets.

"China has indeed received the invitation of the US to hold trade talks, and we welcome that. Now the two sides are communicating over relevant details," China's foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said on Thursday.

The United States and China have hit $50 billion worth tariffs on each other with president Trump demanding China make sweeping economic policy changes, including ending joint venture and technology transfer policies and better protect American intellectual property. 

In fact, the Trump administration is preparing to activate tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods at any moment. Trump had said last week that he had tariffs on an additional $267 billion worth of goods ready "on short notice if I want." 

China has threatened retaliatory tariffs. "I believe both countries would not be willing to see such a situation," ministry spokesman Gao Feng said.