In a sharp escalation of trade tensions, US President Donald Trump has accused China of completely violating the trade agreement it had reached with the United States, reigniting concerns over the fragile economic relationship between the world’s two largest economies.
Trump’s remarks were delivered in a scathing post on his social media platform, Truth Social, on Friday (30).
“The bad news is that China, perhaps not surprisingly to some, HAS TOTALLY VIOLATED ITS AGREEMENT WITH US. So much for being Mr. NICE GUY!” Trump declared, without specifying the exact nature of China’s alleged violations or which provisions were breached in the pact.
This fresh allegation comes just weeks after the US and China had reached a tentative deal to ease tariffs and restart trade negotiations. At the time, both governments had agreed to scale back on punitive levies, signaling a momentary thaw in the ongoing economic standoff. However, Trump’s latest comments suggest renewed hostilities may be on the horizon.
In his post, Trump also reiterated his earlier stance on tariffs, claiming that the steep duties he imposed had put China in “grave economic danger” and rendered it virtually impossible for Chinese goods to enter the American marketplace, which he described as “by far, number one in the world.”
“Two weeks ago China was in grave economic danger! The very high Tariffs I set made it virtually impossible for China to TRADE into the United States marketplace,” he wrote. “We went, in effect, COLD TURKEY with China, and it was devastating for them.”
He further claimed that this situation led to widespread factory closures and “mild civil unrest” in China, which prompted him to intervene. According to Trump, he decided to make a “fast deal” with Beijing to avoid further economic instability in China — not out of sympathy for the regime, but to prevent global economic repercussions.
“I saw what was happening and didn’t like it, for them, not for us,” he wrote. “I made a FAST DEAL with China in order to save them from what I thought was going to be a very bad situation.”
Trump went on to say that his intervention helped China “quickly stabilize” and return to business as usual. However, he accused Beijing of betraying that resolution soon after.
“Because of this deal, everything quickly stabilized and China got back to business as usual. Everybody was happy! That is the good news!!!” Trump added, before slamming China for “totally” violating the agreement.
The immediate fallout of Trump’s comments was felt on Wall Street. According to Bloomberg, US stock futures dropped, with S&P 500 contracts falling by 0.3 per cent, highlighting market concerns over the potential collapse of the trade truce.
Meanwhile, Trump’s broader trade agenda also faced a legal hurdle this week after a federal court ruling halted most of his tariffs. An appeals court has temporarily paused the ruling to consider further arguments.
