Trump says ‘ball is in China’s court’ on trade talks: White House

President Donald Trump said that the responsibility lies with China to engage in trade negotiations, according to the White House on Tuesday.

“The ball is in China’s court. China needs to make a deal with us. We don’t have to make a deal with them. There’s no difference between China and any other country except they are much larger,” a statement from Trump read out by Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt at a briefing said.

“There’s no difference between China and any other country except they are much larger,” she added.

Leavitt’s remarks came after President Donald Trump accused China of backing out of a significant agreement with US aerospace firm Boeing. His comments followed a Bloomberg report claiming that Chinese authorities had instructed domestic airlines to halt further deliveries of Boeing aircraft and suspend purchases of related equipment and parts from American companies.

“They just reneged on the big Boeing deal, saying that they will ‘not take possession’ of fully committed to aircraft,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post, referencing China, though he offered no specifics about the deal in question.

Since resuming the presidency earlier this year, Trump has imposed fresh tariffs on both allies and adversaries, with the steepest measures aimed at China — including an additional 145% duty on numerous Chinese imports.

Trump took aim at Beijing again on Tuesday, saying on Truth Social that China did not fulfill its commitments under an earlier trade deal. He appeared to be referencing a pact that marked a truce in both sides’ escalating tariff war during his first term.

The US president said China bought only “a portion of what they agreed to buy,” charging that Beijing had “zero respect” for his predecessor Joe Biden’s administration.

Trump also vowed to protect US farmers in the same post, noting that they were often “put on the Front Line with our adversaries, such as China,” when there were trade tussles.