Trump Sees China Markets Opening to US

US president voices optimism on trade ties despite ongoing tensions with Beijing

Wed Jan 14 2026
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JOINT BASE ANDREWS: US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he thinks China can open its markets to American goods, once again asserting he has a good relationship with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

Speaking at Joint Base Andrews, which is the US Air Force facility near Washington, D.C. and home to Air Force One, Trump said “I think it’s going to happen,”.

Washington and Beijing have had tense ties for years over issues such as trade tariffs, intellectual property, human rights, the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic, cyber security and policies towards Taiwan, Hong Kong and Russia’s war in Ukraine, according to Reuters.

A day earlier, Trump threatened to slap a 25% tariff on countries that trade with Iran, risking reopening old wounds with Beijing, Tehran’s biggest trading partner.

China condemned Trump’s threat, and Trump did not provide details on his plan to impose tariffs on countries conducting trade with Iran, which is currently seeing some of its biggest anti-government demonstrations in years.

Trump has been weighing how to respond to the situation in Iran, which fought a 12-day war with US ally Israel last year and whose nuclear sites were bombed by the American military in June.

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