US President Donald Trump said "the ball was now in Beijing's court" to make a tariff deal with Washington.

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White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt read a statement that she said Trump had dictated: "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, and China wants what we have, what every country wants, what we have -- the American consumer -- or to put another way, they need our money," the statement added. 

This comes as China ordered airlines to halt Boeing jet deliveries in response to the US increasing tariffs on Chinese goods to 145 per cent.

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In a post on his Truth Social handle, Trump, on Tuesday (Apr 15), "Our farmers are GREAT, but because of their GREATNESS, they are always put on the Front Line with our adversaries, such as China, whenever there is a Trade negotiation or, in this case, a Trade War. The same thing happened in my First Term. China was brutal to our Farmers, I these Patriots to just hold on, and a great trade deal was made. I rewarded our farmers with a payment of $28 Billion Dollars, all through the China deal. It was a great transaction for the USA, until Crooked Joe Biden came in and didn’t enforce it."

"China largely reneged on the deal (although they behaved during the Trump Administration), only buying a portion of what they agreed to buy. They had ZERO respect for the Crooked Biden Administration, and who can blame them for that? Interestingly, they just reneged on the big Boeing deal, saying that they will “not take possession” of fully committed to aircraft. The USA will PROTECT OUR FARMERS!!!," he added.

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WATCH | US-China trade war: China to suspend aircraft-related purchases from US firms: Report

Trump alleges China-Vietnam talks aimed at undermining US interests

Trump suggested that China's efforts to strengthen economic ties with Vietnam was likely a strategy to “screw” the United States.

“I don’t blame China. I don’t blame Vietnam. I don’t. I see they’re meeting today. Is that wonderful? That’s a lovely meeting … like trying to figure out, how do we screw the United States of America?” he told reporters in the Oval Office, claiming that Joe Biden had lost “trillions of dollars” in trade to China.

Trump's comments came while discussing tariffs and potential exemptions for automobiles and auto parts.

“I don’t blame President Xi,” he said in the Oval Office during a joint news briefing with El Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele. “I like him. He likes me. I mean, you know, who knows?”

Chinese President Xi Jinping, on Monday, met Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and To Lam, the nation’s Communist Party general secretary.

He said, “We must strengthen strategic resolve, jointly oppose unilateral bullying, and uphold the stability of the global free trade system as well as industrial and supply chains.”