Trump assures China 'will be fine' amid rising US-China trade tensions

Donald Trump and Xi Jinping

US President Donald Trump sought to ease tensions with China, saying the United States “wants to help China, not hurt it," just days after threatening an additional 100% tariff on Beijing.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump described Chinese President Xi Jinping as “highly respected" and said he “just had a bad moment,” emphasizing that he doesn’t want to push China into economic depression. “Don’t worry about China, it will all be fine! Highly respected President Xi just had a bad moment. He doesn’t want Depression for his country, and neither do I. The U.S.A. wants to help China, not hurt it!!!” he wrote.

Trump’s comments follow his accusations earlier this week that Beijing engaged in “extraordinarily aggressive" and “hostile" trade actions after China announced restrictions on exports of nearly all its products, particularly rare earth elements, and warned of potential retaliatory tariffs.

US Vice President JD Vance also addressed the escalating trade dispute, urging China to “choose the path of reason.” Speaking on Fox News’s Sunday Morning Futures, Vance said, “We’re going to find out a lot in the weeks to come about whether China wants to start a trade war with us or whether they actually want to be reasonable.”

China has defended its export control measures on rare earths and related materials, calling them lawful actions to safeguard global peace. Beijing also warned it would take “resolute measures” if Trump follows through with the threat to impose 100 percent tariffs on Chinese goods.

The unfolding dispute has triggered market volatility, with economists warning of potential disruptions to global supply chains and rising costs for electronics, clean energy products, and other essential goods. China, meanwhile, criticized the proposed US tariffs as hypocritical and accused Washington of applying “double standards” while defending its own export curbs.