‘Trump chickened out’ trends on Chinese social media over trade war back step

US President Donald Trump is being ridiculed on Chinese social media following his apparent tariffs U-turn.

Trump said the tariffs that he imposed on China were too high on Thursday.

“145% is very high, and it won’t be that high. It’ll come down substantially, but it won’t be zero,” he said.

“We’re going to live together very happily and ideally work together. We’re going to be very nice; they’re going to be very nice, and we’ll see what happens.”

Trump’s change in tone on the trade war triggered a reaction on Chinese social media channels.

“Trump chickened out” became a trending topic on Weibo and attracted over 150 million views, USA Today reported.

US President Donald Trump and with Chinese President Xi Jinping.Andy Wong

Trump’s tariffs policy announcement earlier this month triggered market turmoil and trillions in losses globally.

He was asked on Wednesday (NZT Thursday) by the Associated Press if he was actively talking with China about a trade deal.

“Everybody wants to be a part of what we’re doing,” he said, adding: the US will have “a fair deal with China.”

China took its opposition to Trump’s tariff war and America First policies to the United Nations on Wednesday, asking whether the world should advocate for all countries to work together or “return to the law of the jungle where the strong prey on the weak”.

The call, by China’s UN ambassador Fu Cong, was for nations to back multilateralism, the bedrock of the United Nations, and it got overwhelming support at an informal meeting of the UN Security Council — except from the United States.

US diplomat Ting Wu said Trump “is resetting the trade environment so that China can no longer take advantage”.

Market reaction in US

The S&P 500 was 2.6% higher in midday trading Wednesday (local time), coming off a big gain Tuesday that more than made up for its steep loss on Monday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 848 points, or 2.2%, and the Nasdaq composite was 3.6% higher.

Investors were responding to Trump’s apparent pivot from his criticism of the Federal Reserve and his tough talk in his trade war.

Wall Street’s gains followed strong moves higher for stocks across much of Europe and Asia.

They also continue a dizzying, up-and-down run for financial markets as investors struggle with how to react to so much uncertainty about what Trump will do with his economic policies.

The S&P 500 remains 11.7% below its record set earlier this year after briefly dropping roughly 20% below the mark.