The United States President Donald Trump has threatened to levy further tariffs on Chinese imports if President Xi Jinping does not show up for their planned face-to-face meeting on the sidelines of the G20 Summit.

Trump's threat comes weeks ahead of the G20 Summit, scheduled to held in Osaka, Japan between June 28–29. The Trump administration plans to use the G20 platform to strike a trade deal with Beijing to address concerns including intellectual property theft, forced technology transfers and trade deficits.

In an exclusive conversation with CNBC, Trump justified that China would have to hammer out a deal with the US as the Asian giant does not want to pay further tariffs.

Trump said: “Without tariffs, we would be captive to every country, and we have been for many years. That’s why we’ve had an $800 billion trading deficit for years. We lose a fortune with virtually every country. They take advantage of us in every way possible and the US Chamber is right there with them.

"I assume I am a member of the US Chamber maybe after we think that because when you look at it the Chamber is probably more for the companies and people that are members than they are for our countries because."

He continued: “Without tariffs, we would absolutely be at a competitive disadvantage to the likes of which we’ve never seen. People haven’t used tariffs. Tariffs are a beautiful thing when you are the piggy bank, when you have all the money. Everyone is trying to get our money. The China deal is going to work out. You know why? Because of tariffs. Right now, China is getting absolutely decimated. Companies are leaving China (because) they don’t want to pay the tariffs. China will, in my opinion, which is based on a lot of facts and a lot of knowledge, make a deal.”

First Published:Jun 11, 2019 6:40 PM IST