Trump says China likely stalling on trade, pending election

President Trump said Friday he doesn’t care if China inks a trade deal or not, citing the impact of tariffs on their imports and his suspicion the Chinese are trying to wait him out and deal with a weaker successor.

“I don’t know if they’re going to make a deal. Maybe they will, maybe they won’t,” Mr. Trump told White House reporters. “I don’t care, because we’re taking in tens of billions of dollars worth of tariffs.”

Mr. Trump insists the tariffs flow into U.S. coffers, despite widespread belief the cost of the levies are passed down to U.S. consumers.

The president said he’s content with the status quo, citing a $16 billion bailout he extended to keep farmers happy while the trade war batters their products.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer are heading to Shanghai on Monday to resume trade talks that fell apart in May, after the U.S. accused the Chinese of walking away from previously negotiated details.

Mr. Trump said he’s happy to talk but it seems like the other side is stalling.

“If I had a 2% chance of losing the election, I think China would probably say, ’Let’s wait, maybe Trump will lose and we can deal with another dope, or another stiff,’” Mr. Trump said.

“I think that China will probably say, ’Let’s wait, it’s 14, 15 months until the election. Let’s see if one of these people, that give the United States away, let’s see if one of them could possibly get elected,’” he added. “I’ll tell you what, when I win, like almost immediately they’re all gonna sign deals and they’re gonna be phenomenal deals for the country.”