Donald Trump has branded Chinese President Xi Jinping “extremely hard to make a deal with,” as the world’s two largest economies clash once again over trade.
In a post on his Truth Social platform at around 2 am Washington time, Trump described Xi as “very tough,” just hours before the latest round of import tariffs took effect. His comments come as the White House confirmed the two leaders are expected to speak this week, following accusations from Trump that Beijing had breached the terms of a trade agreement struck in Geneva last month.
China hit back on Monday, accusing the US of violating the deal.
The latest standoff coincides with a deadline for US trading partners to submit their “best offers” to avoid steep new tariffs. As of 5 am UK time, the US officially doubled tariffs on imported steel and aluminium to 50%—though the UK was spared under a last-minute exemption signed by Trump.
Despite the heightened tensions, global stock markets rallied. Investors shrugged off the tariff turmoil, driving the MSCI All Country World Index up 0.2% to 887.73, nudging past its previous peak in February.
Markets have staged a strong recovery since Trump scaled back the most aggressive elements of his tariff plans, first announced in February and escalated on April 2 during what he dubbed “liberation day.” Confidence was further boosted by better-than-expected US job vacancy data, which fuelled a rally on Wall Street and lifted sentiment across Asian and European exchanges.
