Washington: The United States is doing very well in trade negotiations with China, President Donald Trump said Friday.
We have a massive trade negotiation going on with China. President Xi is very much involved; so am I. We're dealing at the highest levels and we're doing very well. We're doing very well, Trump told reporters during a Rose Garden news conference.
"In the meantime, we've taken in billions and billions of dollars in tariffs from China, and from others. Our steel industry has come roaring back, and that makes me very happy, he said.
Top officials from United States and China are currently involved in trade negotiations. In November, Trump and Xi met in Buenos Aires on the sidelines of the G-20 Summit in Argentina.
We are doing very well. China is paying us tremendous tariffs. We're getting billions and billions of dollars of money pouring into the Treasury of the United States, which, in history, we've never gotten from China. As you know, it's been very unfair, he said.
Trump said he had a fantastic meeting with President Xi and they both like and respect each other.
One of the things that came out of that meeting was fentanyl. As you know, almost all of it comes from China. And he's going to now criminalise the making of fentanyl, he said.
I think that could have a tremendous -- and I thanked President Xi very much, he added.
Trump said his meeting with Xi in Argentina was supposed to last for about 45 minutes, but it ended up being almost four hours.
It was a great meeting. We'll see what happens. You never know with a deal, he said.
China, he told reporters is not doing well now in economy. We are doing very well. But we're taking in billions and billions of dollars, and I hope we're going to make a deal with China. If we don't, they're paying us tens of billions of dollars' worth of tariffs. It's not the worst thing in the world, he said.
I think we will make a deal with China. I really think they want to. I think they sort of have to. I think we're going to have a great relationship. I think that President Xi and myself have a great relationship. Also, North Korea. We're doing very well with North Korea, and that's based on relationship also, he said.
Responding to a question on Apple's recent announcement, Trump said that the American phone manufacturer would be fine.
Don't forget this: Apple makes their product in China. I told Tim Cook, who's a friend of mine, who I like a lot: Make your product in the United States. Build those big, beautiful plants that go on for miles, it seems. Build those plants in the United States."
"I like that even better, he said.
"Apple makes its product in China. China is the biggest beneficiary of Apple, more than us, because they build their product mostly in China. But now he's investing USD 350 billion because of what we did with taxes and the incentives that we created. In the United States, he's going to build a campus, and lots of other places, Trump said.