BEIJING (dpa-AFX) - President Donald Trump revealed in a post on Twitter on Wednesday that China has been asked to develop a plan to reduce the trade deficit between the U.S. and China by $1 billion.
'China has been asked to develop a plan for the year of a One Billion Dollar reduction in their massive Trade Deficit with the United States,' Trump tweeted.
He added, 'Our relationship with China has been a very good one, and we look forward to seeing what ideas they come back with. We must act soon!'
The tweet from Trump comes after a report from the Commerce Department showed the U.S. trade deficit with China widened to $36.0 billion in January from $30.8 billion in December.
The total U.S. trade deficit widened to $56.6 billion in January from $53.9 billion in December, reaching its highest level since October of 2008.
Trump also indicated that the U.S. would take swift action to address intellectual property theft, a practice that China has frequently been accused of engaging in.
'The U.S. is acting swiftly on Intellectual Property theft,' Trump tweeted. 'We cannot allow this to happen as it has for many years!'
The president's comments come amid concerns his planned tariffs on steel and aluminum imports could spark a global trade war.
Trump has shrugged off concerns about retaliation by the European Union and China, claiming trade wars are 'good' and 'easy to win.'
A dispute over the tariffs reportedly contributed to White House chief economic advisor Gary Cohn's decision to resign from the Trump administration on Tuesday.
(Photo: Gage Skidmore)
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX