WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump expressed hope that a deal could soon be reached with Chinese President Xi Jinping to bring an end to the ongoing tariff war, aiming for an agreement within the next three to four weeks.

“I believe we’ll have a deal with China. I think we have plenty of time,” Trump said during an executive order signing ceremony alongside Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick in the Oval Office, as quoted by Business Insider on Thursday (17/4).

Trump did not clarify whether Xi Jinping had made any reciprocal moves toward ending the tariff dispute with the US.

His remarks mark the first indication in weeks that a resolution may be on the horizon, after he escalated tariffs on Chinese imports to as high as 245%.

“This is a game between China and the US to see who blinks first,” said Nick Vyas, Founding Director of the Randall R. Kendrick Global Supply Chain Institute at USC Marshall, speaking to Business Insider ahead of Trump’s statement on Thursday.

“China feels it holds all the cards to keep enduring the pressure. Meanwhile, Trump believes he holds the upper hand, since the US consumes more from China than the other way around.”

Vyas added, “All we can do now is wait and see which version of reality ends up materialising.” (MT/ZH)