Trump says Chinese President Xi Jinping is ‘extremely hard to make a deal with’

United States President Donald Trump on Wednesday, June 4, 2025, described Chinese President Xi Jinping as a formidable and “extremely hard to make a deal with” counterpart.

His comments came shortly after Trump accused China of violating a tariff rollback agreement between the two countries.

Trump’s remarks were posted on his Truth Social platform on Wednesday amid escalating tensions over their tariff truce.

Despite the criticism, Trump affirmed his regard for Xi, saying, “I like President Xi of China, always have, and always will.”

However, he emphasized the difficulty of negotiating with him by stressing that Xi is “VERY TOUGH, AND EXTREMELY HARD TO MAKE A DEAL WITH.”

This statement reflects the ongoing complexities in the U.S.-China trade relationship, which has seen both cooperation and conflict over tariffs and trade policies.

Earlier in the week, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt mentioned that Trump intended to speak with Xi to resolve disagreements regarding the tariff agreement reached last month, as well as broader trade issues.

This dialogue comes in the wake of a significant tariff deal struck in May between American and Chinese negotiators in Geneva.

The agreement involved the U.S. reducing tariffs on Chinese goods from an average of 145 percent down to 30 percent.

On the other hand, China agreed to cut its tariffs on American products from 125 percent to 10 percent.

Analysts had viewed this deal as surprising and somewhat positive, given the wide gap between the two sides’ initial positions.

The agreement was seen as a step toward easing the trade conflict and preventing a larger confrontation that had unsettled global markets.

It raised hopes for a more cooperative trade relationship and helped stabilize economic expectations worldwide.

However, on Monday, China’s Ministry of Commerce publicly accused the U.S. of “severely violating” the terms of the agreement.

He also declared that China would take necessary measures to protect its interests.

According to the ministry, the U.S. had violated the deal through several actions.

These it says include:

• halting the sale of computer chip design software to Chinese firms,
• restricting the use of Chinese-made chips by American companies such as tech giant Huawei, and,
• canceling visas for Chinese students.

The Chinese Commerce Ministry also cited violations of a separate January agreement made during a phone call between Xi and Trump.

This earlier pact was meant to ease tensions and promote fair trade practices, but according to China, U.S. policies continued to undermine these goals.

Trump himself had expressed frustration with Beijing on social media the previous week.

He accused China of “totally” breaching the tariff agreement.

However, he did not specify which parts of the May deal China had violated.

Later media reports quoted U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer as stating that Beijing had failed to remove non-tariff barriers against U.S. goods, which had been a condition of the deal.

Non-tariff barriers can include regulations, quotas, or other policies that impede trade without directly imposing tariffs and their removal was a key expectation for fair trade.

The situation is further complicated by recent legal developments in the United States.

A U.S. trade court recently ruled that Trump had exceeded his authority in imposing the majority of the tariffs on imports from China and other nations by using an emergency powers act.

This ruling called into question the legal basis of many of the tariffs that have fueled tensions.

However, the following day, a federal appeals court reinstated the tariffs while it considered the government’s appeal of the initial ruling.

This back-and-forth in the courts highlights the legal uncertainty surrounding Trump’s tariff policies and adds another layer of complexity to the already strained trade relations between the U.S. and China.

In summary, despite the May tariff agreement that lowered trade barriers on both sides and briefly raised hopes for de-escalation, tensions between Washington and Beijing remain high.

Accusations of violations and retaliatory measures have undermined progress.

Both nations continue to grapple with trust issues, legal disputes, and strategic competition.

This has made negotiations difficult and fraught with challenges.

Trump’s blunt characterization of Xi as a tough negotiator underscores the challenges facing any future trade talks and the broader geopolitical rivalry between the world’s two largest economies.

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