Trump does not want to 'even talk' to Jinping

(Patria) – The escalation of negative rhetoric between US President Donald Trump and China over the coronavirus pandemic has caused concern that the already tense trade relationship between the two countries could now be in jeopardy.

The US President's suggestion that he could 'sever ties' with official Beijing, as well as his other statements related to China, have been called 'madness' by Chinese state media.

In an interview with Fox Business, Trump openly stated that he is very disappointed with China's failed attempt to curb Covid-19. He emphasized that the pandemic has negatively affected the trade agreement reached in January with Beijing, and that he is currently not interested in even talking to President Xi Jinping.

- They shouldn't have let this happen, Trump underlined. 'I reached a great trade deal, and now I can say it's not the same anymore. The ink hadn't even dried, the plague happened. Now it all seems different to me,' Trump said, suggesting that he is now no longer sure about maintaining the trade agreement with China.

The US President had previously spoken about a good relationship with his Chinese counterpart, and tried not to direct criticism at him directly, but now he 'doesn't even want to talk to him' anymore.

When asked what measures he intends to take against China, Trump replied: 'We could do a lot of things... We could cut off the whole relationship.'

Continuing in the same vein, the US President said that he would 'save $500 billion' that way, referring to the average value of annual exports from China, which he had earlier called 'lost money'.

Analysts fear that the escalation of negative rhetoric on both sides could jeopardize the trade relationship between the two superpowers.