Washington, 23 April 2025 (dpa/MIA) - US President Donald Trump signalled on Tuesday that he was not looking to "play hardball" in the ongoing trade dispute with China.

"We're going to be very nice. They're going to be very nice, and we'll see what happens," Trump said referring to China. "But ultimately they have to make a deal, because otherwise they're not going to be able to deal in the United States."

"If they don't make a deal, we'll set the deal ... and it'll be a fair deal for everybody," Trump added, saying he expects the process to move quickly.

He made the comments at the swearing-in ceremony for the new Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Paul Atkins in the Oval Office.

Earlier on Tuesday, White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said Trump believes the United States is making progress toward a trade agreement with China.

"I asked the president about this before coming out here. And he wanted me to share with all of you that we're doing very well in respect to a potential trade deal with China," Leavitt told a press conference.

Leavitt said the Trump administration was laying the groundwork for an agreement with China and noted that Washington had also received 18 trade proposals from countries around the world. She declined to say whether Trump had recently spoken with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Trump had already voiced optimism last week, saying he was confident he would get a "very good deal" with China and described earlier communications with Beijing as "very good."

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also suggested de-escalation in the dispute with China, telling investors at a closed-door meeting that current tariff levels were unsustainable, broadcaster CNBC reported on Tuesday, citing a participant in the meeting.

Earlier this month, Trump escalated the trade conflict by imposing new tariffs on multiple countries, but later paused implementation for 90 days. However, special tariffs of up to 145% remain in place on Chinese goods. Beijing retaliated with tariffs of up to 125% on US products.

Photo: MIA archive