Trump told his team China must be the first to reach out to US over tariff war: Report

President Donald Trump told his team that the US will not reach out to China first and that China must be the first to make the move, two senior White House officials told CNN as China slapped a retaliatory tariff of 125 per cent in reply to US's 145 per cent tariff. In private discussions hours before China announced its new tariffs, the Trump administration warned Chinese officials against such a move and they were told that Chinese president Xi Jinping should request a call with Trump.

But the US woke up to the announcement of 125 per cent tax and a comment from Xi that China is not afraid of any "unjust suppression".

Beijing refuses to arrange a leader-level phone call

Before the trade war started, US officials had been conveying to Beijing for roughly two months that Xi should request a call with Trump. But Beijing refused to arrange a leader-level phone call, the CNN report said, explaining that Xi does not want to be seen as weak by making the first move.

The report said China was trying to set up a back channel for months but it has not been successful. The Trump administration did not like China's foreign minister Wang Yi serving as the interlocutor and said he is not close enough to Xi's inner circle. Chinese officials have been presented with the specific names of people that the Trump White House would like to engage with instead, but China won’t budge, sources cited by the report said.

'Give the bully an inch...'

China said any dialogue must be based of equality, respect and mutual benefit. "if the US truly wants ti have talks, it should stop its capricious and destructive behavior. For the welfare of the Chinese and the people of the world, for the fairness and justice of the global order, China will never bow to maximum pressure of the United States. Give the bully an inch, he will take a mile," China's ministry of foreign affairs said in a statement.

The statement proved that China is trying to take an upperhand over the US and wants them to make the first move.

Why Trump won't call Xi

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt Friday said Trumo is optimistic about striking a trade deal with China. The statement came in response to a reporter who asked why Trump hadn't called Jinping. "President Trump has said he has a great relationship with Chinese Xi, he's willing to speak with him directly," a reporter said. "Why doesn't the president just pick up the phone and get this ball going?"

"All of the things the president just said are true," Leavitt said, adding that Trump "would be gracious if China intends to make a deal with the United States. If China continues to retaliate, it's not good for China."

"The United States of America is the strongest, best country in the world, as evidenced by the more than 75 countries who have called the administration immediately to cut good deals," the press secretary said. "So the president wants to do what's right for the American people, he wants to see fair trade practices around the globe and that's his intention and his goal."