U.S. President Donald Trump has expressed his willingness to reduce import tariffs on China at some point in the future. According to Bloomberg (Monday, May 5, 2025), this comes as current tariffs have reached such high levels that trade between the world’s two largest economies has nearly come to a halt. Trump imposed tariffs as high as 145% on Chinese imports, while China responded with 125% tariffs on U.S. goods. These moves rattled global markets and risked raising the cost of manufacturing equipment and everyday products relied on by many Americans, including clothing and toys.

"Eventually, I will lower those tariffs, because otherwise, you just can't do business with them — and they really want to trade," Trump said in an interview on NBC's Meet the Press with Kristen Welker, as quoted by Bloomberg. He also referenced China’s current economic struggles, noting that factory activity has declined to its worst contraction since 2023, based on the official manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI).

New export orders have fallen to their lowest level since December 2022, with the steepest drop since April of that year — a time when Shanghai entered a citywide lockdown due to the pandemic. Trump also described some of China’s recent statements as positive, while reiterating that any trade deal must be fair. Last Friday, China stated it is reviewing the possibility of trade talks with the U.S. following Trump’s recent tariff announcement, marking the first signal that negotiations may resume. "China is evaluating this," said China’s Ministry of Commerce.