‘Ball Is In China's Court, Beijing Needs To Deal With US, Not Other Way Round’: White House

Last Updated:April 16, 2025, 07:22 IST

The White House said that it is China that needs to deal with the US and not the other way round.

US President Donald Trump with Chinese leader Xi Jinping | File Image/Reuters

Amid the exchange of higher tariffs on each other, US President Donald Trump has said that “the ball is in China’s court", adding that it is Beijing that has to deal with the United States and not the other way round.

The remarks by the White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt at a media interaction as trade war escalates between the US and China. The US has imposed tariffs on the Chinese imports as high as 145% while China, in retaliation, has slapped 125% tariffs on the US imports.

“The President has made his position on China quite clear. Although, I do have an additional statement that he just shared with me in the Oval Office," Leavitt told the reporters.

“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," she added.

The press secretary said that China is no different from any other country in the world, “except they are much larger".

“And China wants what we have, what every country wants, what we have — the American consumer, or to put it another way, they need our money," she stressed.

Underlining Trump’s position that he is open to a deal with China, she said that China needs to come forward to make a deal with the US.

“So the President again has made it quite clear that he’s open to a deal with China, but China needs to make a deal with the United States of America," Leavitt said.

Trump initially put extra tariffs on goods from China because of claims that China is involved in the fentanyl drug problem. Recently, those taxes were increased a lot because the US says China is not trading fairly.

These US tariffs include a 20% tax on fentanyl and other illegal drugs and a much higher 125% tax on some other Chinese goods due to unfair trade.

However, the Trump administration has temporarily spared some tech products like smartphones and laptops from the new taxes.

Washington D.C., United States of America (USA)

News world ‘Ball Is In China's Court, Beijing Needs To Deal With US, Not Other Way Round’: White House