Trump on US-China Trade War: 'We Are Winning, Big Time'

The United States and China have been engaged in a trade war since June 2018, when Trump announced he was imposing tariffs on $50 billion worth of Chinese imports in a bid to balance the trade deficit. Since then, the two countries have imposed several tit-for-tat rounds of tariffs but have yet to negotiate a comprehensive trade deal.

US President Donald Trump boasted that the US was winning its trade war with China, noting that "prices to us have not gone up" and suggesting that the prices "in some cases, have come down".

We are winning, big time, against China. Companies & jobs are fleeing. Prices to us have not gone up, and in some cases, have come down. China is not our problem, though Hong Kong is not helping. Our problem is with the Fed. Raised too much & too fast. Now too slow to cut....

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 14, 2019

On Tuesday, the US Trade Representative revealed that Washington would postpone a decision to implement an additional 10-percent tariff on some Chinese imports until 15 December, noting that the 10-percent tariff on $300 billion worth of Chinese imports previously announced by Trump will go into effect on 1 September, as scheduled.

Meanwhile, the US Treasury Department has officially designated China as a currency manipulator and vowed to work with the International Monetary Fund to address the issue. China's central bank, in response, warned that Washington's move undermined international principles and would result in extremely negative consequences for the global economy.

According to the latest data of the Chinese General Administration of Customs, US-Chinese trade decreased by 13.4 percent in the first seven months of 2019, totaling $308 billion.

In January-April, Chinese exports to the United States dropped by 7.8 percent to $238.25 billion, while imports from the United States to China saw a 28.3 percent decrease year-on-year, reaching $69.75 billion, the data showed.

China exported $38.85 billion worth of goods to the United States in July, while it imported $10.88 billion worth of US products.

According to the data, the trade imbalance between the two countries continues to grow, reaching an estimated $168.5 billion over the period.

Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and China's Central Foreign Affairs Commission Office Director Yang Jiechi discussed the state of relations between the two countries, according to the US Department of State.