U.S. President Donald Trump launched a public tirade against China on Friday, accusing Beijing of violating a trade agreement reached just two weeks ago. The outburst, posted on Truth Social, comes amid growing signs that negotiations between Washington and Beijing have stalled.
“Two weeks ago China was in grave economic danger!” Trump wrote. “The very high Tariffs I set made it virtually impossible for China to TRADE into the United States marketplace... I made a FAST DEAL with China in order to save them... The bad news is that China, perhaps not surprisingly to some, HAS TOTALLY VIOLATED ITS AGREEMENT WITH US. So much for being Mr. NICE GUY!"
The deal Trump referred to was reached on May 14, temporarily pausing a cycle of retaliatory tariffs triggered by his imposition of sweeping “Liberation Day” tariffs on April 2. However, Trump did not specify what aspects of the agreement he believes China violated.
His post followed comments from Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent during a Thursday night interview with Fox News. Bessent said trade negotiations had “stalled,” but expressed hope that a direct call between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping could get discussions back on track.
The escalation mirrors Trump’s pattern seen in other foreign policy arenas—including talks over the Ukraine war and Iran’s nuclear program—which often switch between upbeat predictions of swift progress and combative social media outbursts when talks falter.
Unlike those foreign policy issues, however, Trump’s trade posture toward China carries direct and immediate economic ramifications, with markets sensitive to any signs of friction or détente between the world’s two largest economies.
China responded to Trump’s remarks later on Friday via its embassy in Washington. Spokesman Liu Pengyu said Beijing was concerned by the U.S.'s "abuse of export control measures" and called on Washington to “cease discriminatory restrictions against China” and uphold the commitments made at the recent high-level talks in Geneva.