Donald Trump says ‘ball is in China’s court’ on tariffs as Beijing pauses Boeing deal

Donald Trump says it’s up to China, not the United States, to come to the negotiating table on trade as Beijing goes back on a major Boeing deal.

US President Donald Trump. Picture: Brendan Smialowski / AFP

President Donald Trump believes it is up to China, not the United States, to come to the negotiating table on trade, the White House said Tuesday as tensions escalate between the world’s two biggest economies.

“The ball is in China’s court. China needs to make a deal with us. We don’t have to make a deal with them,” said a statement from Trump read out by Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt at a briefing.

“There’s no difference between China and any other country except they are much larger,” she added.

While Ms Leavitt maintained that Trump was open to a deal with Beijing, she stressed that it was China that needed to step forward first — pointing to the strength of the US consumer market as leverage.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt speaks with reporters on Tuesday. Picture: AP /Manuel Balce Ceneta

Earlier, Mr Trump said China had gone back on a major Boeing deal, after a news report that Beijing ordered airlines not to take further deliveries of the US aviation giant’s jets.

Mr Trump’s comments on social media followed a Bloomberg news report about the halt. The report also said that Beijing requested Chinese carriers to pause purchases of aircraft-related equipment and parts from US firms.

“Interestingly, they just reneged on the big Boeing deal, saying that they will ‘not take possession’ of fully committed to aircraft,” said Mr Trump in a Truth Social post, referring to China as trade tensions flared between the world’s two biggest economies.

But he did not provide further details on the Boeing pact he was referring to. Although Mr Trump has slapped new tariffs on friend and foe since returning to the presidency this year, he reserved his heaviest blows for China — imposing additional 145 per cent levies on many Chinese imports.

Mr Trump took aim at Beijing again on Tuesday, saying on Truth Social that China did not fully fulfil an earlier trade deal. He appeared to be referencing a pact that marked a truce in both sides’ escalating tariffs war during his first term.

The US president said China bought only “a portion of what they agreed to buy,” charging that Beijing had “zero respect” for his predecessor Joe Biden’s administration.

Mr Trump also vowed to protect US farmers in the same post, noting that farmers were often “put on the Front Line with our adversaries, such as China,” when there were trade tussles.

Since the start of the year, Mr Trump has imposed steep duties on imports from China, alongside a 10 per cent “baseline” tariff on many US trading partners.

An Air China Boeing 777-300 plane lands at Beijing International last week. Picture: AFP

His administration recently widened exemptions for these tariffs, excluding certain tech products like smartphones and laptops from the global 10 per cent tariff and latest 125 per cent levy on China.

But many Chinese imports still face the total 145 per cent additional tariff, or at least an earlier 20 per cent levy that Trump rolled out over China’s alleged role in the fentanyl supply chain.

In response, Beijing has introduced counter tariffs targeting US agricultural goods — and later retaliated with a sweeping 125 per cent levy of its own on imported American products.

China’s Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to AFP queries on the aircraft deliveries, and Boeing has declined to comment on the Bloomberg report.

Boeing shares were around 1.5 per cent lower on Tuesday morning.

AFP