Donald Trump says China is having 'hard time' since US levied 10 percent tariffs on Chinese products in September

Washington: China has been hurt over the past months and is having a “hard time” due to strong steps taken by the US against it over trade, US president Donald Trump has claimed.

The US levied tariffs of 10 percent on $200 billion of Chinese products in September, with the rate set to increase to 25 percent by the end of the year. In response, Beijing said it would impose taxes on 5,207 US imports worth about $60 billion.

The two nations had already imposed tariffs on $50 billion of each other’s goods before the September sanctions.

“China has been hurt over the last number of months. And they’re having a hard time, and they’ll be fine.  And let’s see what happens,” Trump said at a White House event.

Trump said the two countries have a chance to make a fair deal.

“China has been hurting us and trade deals have been hurting us,” he said, adding that his administration is changing all those trade deals.

“We are changing them. We changed with Mexico. We changed it with Canada, South Korea.  We have a new deal,” he said adding that the US is now negotiating with the European Union, which “has absolutely hurt” the United States.

Trump said the American economy is doing well and he has been receiving congratulatory message from across the world.

“We are literally the hottest country in the world, economically, and it’s a great thing to see.  I think we have a long way to go. I really believe that,” he said.