TRADE ESCALATION WITH CHINA WILL LEAD TO 'SOMETHING POSITIVE' - TRUMP

WASHINGTON, April 12 (Bernama-Sputnik/RIA Novosti) -- US President Donald Trump said trade escalation with China will lead to "something positive", reported Sputnik/RIA Novosti.

“I think something positive is going to come out of it,” Trump told reporters.

He said he has always got along with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

"We're in a very good position," Trump said, adding that on tariff negotiations, his administration is talking to “a lot of countries.”

Tariffs on China will remain at 145 per cent, the White House said earlier.

The Chinese Embassy in Washington told RIA Novosti about the US administration's trade strategy that Beijing will only negotiate on an equal footing and with mutual respect, calling for an end to threats and economic pressure, stressing that there could be no winners in trade wars.

The White House insists that Washington's actions cannot be judged in such terms.

Meanwhile, on Iran, Trump said he wants Iran to be a "great, happy country" but without nuclear weapons.

“I want Iran to be a wonderful, great, happy country. But they can’t have a nuclear weapon," Trump told White House press pool reporters shortly before this weekend's Iran talks.

High-level talks between US and Iranian officials will take place in Oman on Saturday.

On the greenback, Trump said the dollar will remain the main choice in trade despite the trade escalation.

“We’re the currency of choice. We’re always going to be…I think the dollar is tremendous," Trump said when asked about the prospects for change regarding the US dollar amid the trade escalation, as quoted by the White House press pool.

--BERNAMA-SPUTNIK/RIA NOVOSTI