Trump talks tough to China before G20 meeting

US President Donald Trump says he is likely to go ahead with an increase on tariffs currently imposed on Chinese goods at the start of 2019.

The comments to the Wall Street Journal come as he is expected to meet China’s Xi Jinping on the sidelines of this week’s G20 summit.

Mr Trump also said he would hit the rest of Chinese imports to the US with tariffs if talks did not go well.

Tariffs on the $200bn of Chinese goods are due to rise to 25% from 10%.

The tariffs were first imposed in September.

Mr Trump said it was “highly unlikely” that he would agree to Beijing’s request to hold off on the tariff rise, the newspaper said.

If negotiations were unsuccessful, Mr Trump said he would also move ahead with plans to target additional Chinese goods with tariffs.

“If we don’t make a deal, then I’m going to put the $267 billion additional on,” Mr Trump was also quoted as saying. The tariff rate on that remaining amount would either be 10% or 25%, he said.

He said Apple iPhones and laptop computers imported from China would “maybe” also be subject to tariffs, the newspaper reported.

Mr Trump launched a trade war with China this year, which has seen the US hit about half of all Chinese imports into the US with tariffs.

China has retaliated but has less room to manoeuvre as the US buys much more from China than it exports there.

Analysts say failure to find common ground at a G20 meeting in Argentina this week could lead to a deterioration in the trade war which is already hurting industries and risks derailing the global economy.