Trump reverses on possible Xi meeting: ‘It doesn’t matter’ if he shows up at G-20

President Trump on Friday changed his tune on the importance of meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the upcoming Group of 20 (G-20) summit, saying “it doesn’t matter” if Xi shows up.

“If he shows up, good, if he doesn’t — in the meantime, we’re taking in billions of dollars a month … from China,” Trump said in a Fox News interview.

“It doesn’t matter,” Trump responded when asked about the possibility of Xi not attending the G-20 meeting in Japan later this month.

{mosads}Earlier in the week, Trump threatened to impose tariffs on $300 billion worth of Chinese imports if Xi decided not to attend the summit.

It’s unclear whether Xi will participate in the meeting.

The Trump administration has been hoping the summit could be a platform to showcase progress in trade talks between the U.S. and China, a prospect that seems unlikely given recent tensions between the two countries.

Trump increased tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese imports last month after talks stalled. He has maintained that China pays for the tariffs, an import tax that largely falls on American consumers and businesses.

“Our people are not paying,” Trump said in Friday’s interview, arguing that companies would eventually move out of China to avoid the tariffs.

The U.S. business community has attributed a recent dip in economic confidence to the ongoing trade wars.

Last week, Trump backed off a threat to impose 5 percent tariffs on Mexican imports after striking a deal with Mexico on immigration enforcement.