Trump vows direct talks with Xi Jinping, rules out Elon Musk from US strategy on China

US President Donald Trump on Friday reiterated his intention to engage directly with Chinese President Xi Jinping while ruling out the involvement of his close adviser, Elon Musk, in any strategy concerning Beijing. Trump made clear he did not want a “potential war” with China. And, addressing a New York Times report about how much access Musk is getting to sensitive Pentagon information about the country, the US leader said he would not share such details with him, citing the billionaire’s business interests there. “I’ll be speaking to President Xi,” he told journalists at the Oval Office on Friday, saying he had “a great relationship” with the Chinese leader. “But we have a trillion dollar deficit,” Trump continued, saying he had “explained that to President Xi”. On trade, Trump said US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer would hold his first phone conversation next week with his Chinese counterpart, who would be Wang Wentao, Beijing’s commerce minister. Come April 2, Washington is expected to levy new reciprocal tariffs on all US trading partners. China is America’s third-largest trading partner after Mexico and Canada. Since taking office in January, the Trump administration has already imposed additional 20 per cent duties on all Chinese imports. Beijing has retaliated with its own tariffs ranging between 10 and 15 per cent on American goods, including coal, gas and farm products, while sanctioning some US defence companies. Sino-American relations have been tense in the second Trump presidency to date, despite his earlier statements that he would meet with Xi within the first 100 days of his new term and negotiate a grand bargain with Beijing. Last week, Trump said Xi would be visiting Washington in the “not too distant future”. Musk, meanwhile, serves the Trump administration as a special government employee and has been tasked with overseeing an effort to cut waste in the federal bureaucracy. In recent months, China watchers have pointed to Musk’s connections in the country to suggest the world’s richest man could serve as a bridge between the two governments. However, Trump on Friday signalled that he preferred to engage with Xi directly on important policy matters. Trump dismissed news reports that Musk was set to receive a briefing at the Pentagon regarding the American military’s plans for a potential armed conflict with China, adding: “I don’t want to show that to anybody.” While describing Musk as a “patriot”, Trump insisted he would not reveal such sensitive defence information to a “businessman”. “Elon has businesses in China and he would be susceptible,” Trump said, without elaborating what exactly Musk would be susceptible to. Amazing visit with @elonmusk at the Pentagon today. He is a patriot, and I look forward to continuing our work together. With Elon and @DOGE we are ensuring our Military continues to be the greatest fighting force the world has ever known. pic.twitter.com/xkJam6Kmsq — Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth (@SecDef) March 21, 2025 The US president added that if “you ever mentioned China”, Musk would “walk out of the room” because he should do so. “He wouldn’t take it anyway.” Trump’s comments followed a New York Times story citing anonymous sources that reported Musk was scheduled to meet on Friday with Pentagon officials for a briefing “focused” on the country. Earlier Trump wrote on social media that the story was predicated on a “fake concept” that “because Elon does some business in China, he is very conflicted and would immediately go to top Chinese officials and ‘spill the beans’”. Musk visited the Pentagon on Friday and was seen leaving the office of US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth, who on Thursday stated on social media that Musk would be paying a visit. “It was a great informal conversation,” Hegseth told reporters on Friday as he spoke alongside Trump. “The rest of that reporting was fake,” the defence secretary said. “There was no war plans, no Chinese war plans. There was no secret plans. That’s not what we were doing at the Pentagon.” As owner of the American electric vehicle giant Tesla and space technology company SpaceX, Musk has sought for years to make business inroads in China as a production hub and consumer market. In addition, SpaceX holds multiple contracts with the Pentagon. And as the Trump administration’s point person for the Department of Government Efficiency established by executive order, Musk has taken charge of scaling back funding and operations of several federal offices. These efforts have targeted the US Department of Education as well as the US Agency for International Development, also known as USAID, which oversees US foreign aid and development assistance. Sean Parnell, a Pentagon spokesperson, said in an interview with Fox News on Friday that the story reporting Musk would get a top-secret briefing should be “immediately” retracted. The “days of the Pentagon just allowing these fake narratives” to spread were over, Parnell added.

Trump vows direct talks with Xi Jinping, rules out Elon Musk from US strategy on China

American president makes clear he does not want ‘potential war’ with Beijing as he touts his ‘great relationship’ with Chinese leader