U.S. President Donald Trump said his administration is in discussions with China to finalize a tariff agreement and that he received a call from Chinese President Xi Jinping, according to a TIME magazine interview published on Friday, though Beijing has so far disputed the U.S. characterization of talks.
The world's two biggest economies are locked in an escalating tit-for-tat trade battle triggered by Trump's new levies on Chinese goods, which have reached 145% on many products.
The Republican president did not say when Xi called or what the two leaders discussed, telling TIME: "He's called. And I don't think that's a sign of weakness on his behalf."
China's Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Trump's statement. Before Trump's latest comments were published, it had urged Washington to stop "misleading the public" on bilateral tariff negotiations.
"There's a number at which they will feel comfortable," Trump told the magazine during an interview that took place on Tuesday. "But you can't let them make a trillion dollars on us."
He added that he will be finished making U.S. deals on tariffs in about three or four weeks. Asked if he would consider it a win if the U.S. still had tariffs as high as 50% in a year, he told TIME: "Total victory."
The tariff blitz – which Trump says is retaliation for unfair trade practices, as well as a bid to restore U.S. manufacturing prowess – has rattled markets and raised fears of a global recession.
Trump also laid out his plans to make various other deals with world leaders, from Russia's war in Ukraine to the Middle East with Iran and Saudi Arabia.
In Russia's war with Ukraine, Trump said: "Crimea will stay with Russia. And (Ukrainian President Volodymyr) Zelenskyy understands that, and everybody understands that it's been with them for a long time. It's been with them long before Trump came along."
He also predicted that Saudi Arabia will enter the Abraham Accords, the series of normalization agreements Trump's administration negotiated between Israel and some Gulf countries during his first term.
Trump added that he thinks the U.S. will make a deal with Iran on Tehran's nuclear program.
A U.S. official described a meeting last week to outline a framework for a potential nuclear deal as yielding "very good progress."
"I think we're going to make a deal with Iran," Trump said.
Asked whether he was open to meeting Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei or President Masoud Pezeshkian, he replied: "Sure."
Trump, who in 2018 pulled the U.S. out of a 2015 nuclear agreement between Tehran and world powers, has warned of military action against Iran unless a new deal is swiftly reached to prevent it from developing nuclear weapons.
When asked if the U.S. would join a war against Iran should Israel take action, he responded: "I may go in very willingly if we can't get a deal. If we don't make a deal, I'll be leading the pack."
Since 2019, Iran has breached and far surpassed the 2015 deal's limits on its uranium enrichment, producing stocks far above what the West says is necessary for a civilian energy program.
