President Donald Trump said Tuesday that his relationship with Xi Jinping can be strained at times by the Chinese president's frustration with American strength.
"I have a great relationship with President Xi, but sometimes he gets testy because China likes to take advantage of people, and they can't take advantage of us," Trump told reporters at a White House luncheon with Argentinian President Javier Milei.
"But we have a fair relationship with China, and I think it'll be fine," he said. "And if it's not, that's OK, too."
"You have to do and go where the punches are thrown," the president added. "You gotta put up the blocks. We have a lot of punches being thrown and we've been very successful."
Shortly after his lunch with Milei, Trump posted additional thoughts on trade with China to his Truth Social platform.
"I believe that China purposefully not buying our Soybeans, and causing difficulty for our Soybean Farmers, is an Economically Hostile Act," he wrote. "We are considering terminating business with China having to do with Cooking Oil, and other elements of Trade, as retribution."
Trump said that the United States can "easily produce" cooking oil domestically, so "we don't need to purchase it from China."
Stocks took a tumble in morning trading on Wall Street on Tuesday, as tensions between the U.S. and China flared over trade.
The S&P 500 fell 0.51% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 146.62 points, or 0.32%, as of 10:29 a.m. Eastern time. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq composite dropped 0.90% in the morning and finished down 0.76%. The S&P 500 closed at -0.16% while the Dow rallied and was up 202.88 points (0.44%).
The slump marks a volatile past few days for markets, with Wall Street plunging Friday for its worst day since April and rallying Monday for its best day since May. Shifting trade sentiment between the U.S. and China was reportedly responsible for the market swings.
Nicole Weatherholtz ✉
Nicole Weatherholtz, a Newsmax general assignment reporter covers news, politics, and culture. She is a National Newspaper Association award-winning journalist.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.