Trump says he can make a trade deal with China and calls talks with Xi "friendly."
The US president has already said that he prefers not to impose tariffs against China.
Reuters - US President Donald Trump said his conversation with Chinese President Xi Jinping last week was friendly and that he believes a trade deal can be reached with the Asian giant.
The leaders of the world's two largest economies discussed issues such as TikTok, trade, and Taiwan in a phone call ahead of Trump's inauguration on Monday.
Since taking office, Trump has spoken about a punitive 10% tariff on Chinese imports because, according to him, fentanyl is being shipped from China to the US via Mexico and Canada.
However, he did not immediately impose the tariffs upon taking office, as he had promised during his election campaign. Trump has also threatened to impose tariffs against the European Union, Mexico, and Canada.
"Everything went well. It was a good and friendly conversation," Trump said of his call with Xi in an interview with Fox News broadcast Thursday night.
"I can do it," Trump said in the interview when asked if he could make a deal with China on fair trade practices.
Trump said he would prefer not to use tariffs against China, but called the tariffs a "tremendous power".
"But we have a very significant power over China, which is tariffs, and they don't want them, and I would prefer not to have to use them, but it's a tremendous power over China," Trump added.
