Trump news: Trade war with China escalates as president banishes journalists from White House
The US and China remain locked in trade negotiations after Donald Trump increased tariffs on more than 6,000 Chinese consumer goods by 25 percent to $200bn (£154bn), prompting Beijing to threaten retaliation.
Mr Trump, Treasury secretary Steve Mnuchin and chief US trade negotiator Robert Lighthizer dined with vice-premier Liu He on Thursday night and will continue discussions on Friday in the hope of finding a last-minute resolution after the president accused the rival superpower of “breaking the deal” and insisted: “They’ll be paying”.
“Over the course of the past two days, the United States and China have held candid and constructive conversations on the status of the trade relationship between both countries,” Mr Trump tweeted Friday.
“The relationship between President Xi and myself remains a very strong one, and conversations into the future will continue,” he added. “In the meantime, the United States has imposed Tariffs on China, which may or may not be removed depending on what happens with respect to future negotiations!”
The White House has meanwhile carried out a “mass purge” of journalists by revoking press passes and nominated acting secretary of defence Patrick Shanahan to the post full-time.
Mr Shanahan has been leading the Pentagon as acting secretary since 1 January, a highly unusual arrangement for arguably the most sensitive Cabinet position. He took over after Jim Mattis resigned.
“Acting Secretary Shanahan has proven over the last several months that he is beyond qualified to lead the Department of Defense, and he will continue to do an excellent job,” White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement.
Moments later, Mr Shanahan spoke to reporters outside the Pentagon, saying he was very excited about the nomination and looking forward to a job he said requires him to “spin a lot of plates.”
“The biggest challenge is balancing it all. For me it’s about practicing selectful neglect, so that we can stay focused on the future,” he said, adding with a grin, “I called my mom. She was super happy.”
Indeed, in Mr Shanahan’s tenure at the department he’s had to deal with a wide array of international hotspots, ranging from missile launches by North Korea to the sudden shift of military ships and aircraft to the Middle East to deal with potential threats from Iran.
The announcement comes close on the heels of an investigation by the Defence Department’s inspector general over accusations that Mr Shanahan had shown favoritism toward Boeing during his time as deputy defense secretary, while disparaging Boeing competitors. The probe appeared to stall his nomination, but the IG wrapped up the investigation rapidly and cleared Mr Shanahan of any wrongdoing.
Additional reporting by AP. Please allow a moment for our liveblog to load
