'So much for being Mr. Nice Guy!' - Trump blasts China for violating benevolent trade agreement

President Donald Trump has accused China of breaching a trade deal he said was made to keep their economy from collapsing under US pressure. In a Truth Social post early Friday, the President claimed that “two weeks ago China was in grave economic danger.”

Trump said his high tariffs made it nearly impossible for China to access the US market, and that “we went, in effect, COLD TURKEY with China.” The result, according to him, was chaos on the ground: factory shutdowns and civil unrest.

Trump said he made a fast agreement to stop things from spiraling. “I didn’t want to see that happen,” he wrote. The deal, in his words, brought everything “quickly” back to normal. But on Friday morning, he announced China had already “TOTALLY VIOLATED” the agreement. His final line? “So much for being Mr. NICE GUY!”

Talks freeze as Bessent warns leaders must speak directly

This came one day after Scott Bessent, Trump’s Treasury Secretary, told Fox News the talks were “a bit stalled.” Bessent said on Thursday around 6 p.m. ET that the complexity of the situation now means Trump and Xi Jinping may need to talk directly.

“They have a very good relationship,” Bessent said, “and I am confident that the Chinese will come to the table when President Trump makes his preferences known.”

Bessent was the one who helped broker the agreement on May 12 in Switzerland, when the US and China agreed to roll back tariff hikes for 90 days, or until mid-August. The tariffs had jumped by more than 100%, and the temporary rollback was seen as a cooling-off window. 

Bessent said he expects another round of talks within weeks, and diplomatic officials from both sides had spoken late last week. Despite the agreement, the US has kept up tech restrictions on Beijing, especially around semiconductors. That has drawn anger from Chinese officials. 

Meanwhile, China hasn’t lifted its own restrictions on rare earth exports, something US negotiators expected after the deal. These materials are crucial to military systems and advanced manufacturing.

Washington reacts, Beijing fires back over trade and student visas

Jamieson Greer, the US Trade Representative, called China’s behavior “completely unacceptable” and said the administration is “very concerned” over Beijing’s non-compliance. The frustration grew stronger this week as China continued its export curbs, and the Trump administration responded with a new visa policy targeting Chinese students.

On Thursday, He Yongqian, spokesperson for China’s Ministry of Commerce, claimed Beijing had remained in touch with US counterparts since the Switzerland meeting. When asked about the rare earth restrictions announced in early April, she refused to give a direct answer. 

Instead, she said the limits are based on “international practice” and reflect China’s stance of “upholding world peace and regional stability.”

He also demanded that the US stop blocking China’s access to advanced chips. “China again urges the US to immediately correct its wrong practices… and together safeguard the consensus reached at high-level talks in Geneva,” she said. Her remarks were shared during a regular Thursday press briefing.

The heat escalated further after Trump’s administration announced it would revoke student visas for certain Chinese nationals. Responding Thursday, Mao Ning, a spokesperson for China’s Foreign Ministry, said: “The US decision to revoke Chinese student visas is fully unjustified.” She said Washington was using “ideology and national security as pretext.”

Trump and Xi haven’t spoken since January, just before Trump officially started his second term in office. Trump has said he’s open to speaking again, but those close to the matter believe Beijing won’t accept a call unless it’s sure there won’t be any surprises from the White House.

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