Trump says he has talked to Xi since inauguration

President Trump said he has spoken to Chinese President Xi Jinping since his swearing in last month, suggesting they have spoken in the days since he imposed tariffs on Beijing.

“I happen to like him a lot, President Xi,” Trump said.

He replied, “Yeah, I’ve talked to him,” when Fox News’s Bret Baier asked if he’s spoken to Xi since the inauguration.

“We have a very good personal relationship,” Trump said, arguing that he knows Xi better than anybody. He added that he also knows North Korea leader Kim Jong Un “better than anybody.”

Trump said he was in “no rush” to speak with Xi on Tuesday, which was the day the administration imposed 10 percent tariffs on Chinese inputs.

He followed through on the tariffs on China after he delayed the 25 percent tariffs on Canada and Mexico for a month. He later signed an executive order that temporarily prevents low-cost packages from China from being slapped with his new tariffs.

And, on Monday, Trump signed proclamations to bolster tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports into the U.S. and crack down on attempts by China, as well as Russia, to evade penalties.

Beijing hit the U.S. last week with retaliatory tariffs across the board, imposing a 15 percent tariff on liquefied natural gas and coal and a 10 percent tariff on crude oil, pickup trucks, agricultural machinery and large-displacement cars. 

Meanwhile, Trump has said he would kick off reciprocal tariffs this week, arguing that he thinks reciprocal as opposed to a flat-fee tariff is the fair approach.