Amid trade fight, Trump says China will ease barriers

WASHINGTON — Amid fears of an escalating trade dispute between the U.S. and China, President Donald Trump suggested that Beijing will ease trade barriers “because it is the right thing to do” and that the economic superpowers can settle the conflict.

Trump emphasized his bond with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

“President Xi and I will always be friends, no matter what happens with our dispute on trade,” Trump wrote. “China will take down its Trade Barriers because it is the right thing to do. Taxes will become Reciprocal & a deal will be made on Intellectual Property. Great future for both countries!”

The president made fixing the trade imbalance with China a centerpiece of his presidential campaign, and China has threatened to retaliate if Washington follows through with its proposed tariffs.

The new White House economic adviser, Larry Kudlow, said Sunday that a “coalition of the willing” — including Canada, much of Europe and Australia — was being formed to pressure China and that the U.S. would demand that the World Trade Organization, an arbiter of trade disputes, be stricter on Beijing. And he said that although the U.S. hoped to avoid taking action, Trump “was not bluffing.”

“This is a problem caused by China, not a problem caused by President Trump,” Kudlow said on “Fox News Sunday.”

But he also downplayed the tariff threat as “part of the process,” suggested on CNN that the effect would be “benign” and said he was hopeful that China would enter talks. Kudlow, who started his job a week ago after his predecessor, Gary Cohn, quit over the tariff plan, brushed aside the possibility of economic repercussions.

“I don’t think there’s any trade war in sight,” Kudlow told Fox.