China responds to Trump's offer to ease tariffs in exchange for TikTok deal
Beijing, China - China slapped down President Donald Trump's suggestion that he may reduce tariffs if Beijing agrees to a sale of embattled social media giant TikTok.
"The Chinese side's stance against imposing additional tariffs is also consistent and clear," said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun during a daily press briefing on Thursday.
TikTok faces a potential ban on April 5 if owner ByteDance does not sell the platform's US operations to an American company.
Trump and Vice President JD Vance have both touted good progress on finding a buyer, with reports suggesting that Austin-based software company Oracle is the current frontrunner.
On Wednesday, Trump told reporters in the White House that he'd consider reducing tariffs on China if Beijing agreed to divestment.
Beijing is currently facing steep tariffs after the Trump administration upped levies from 10-20%. On Wednesday, Trump announced 25% tariffs on foreign-built vehicles which will likely have a significant impact on China.
"Maybe I give them a little reduction in tariffs or something to get it done," he said. "We're going to have a form of a deal."
"China is going to have to play a role in that, possibly in the form of an approval and I think they'll do that."
Cover photo: imago/imagebroker