President Trump has played down the chances that on-going trade talks between the U.S. and China will be successful.
Beijing's Vice Premier Liu He is leading a Chinese delegation in Washington for talks on averting a potentially devastating trade war.
Speaking at the White House on Thursday, Trump said his skepticism stemmed from China being "spoilt."
"China has taken out hundreds of billions of dollars a year from the United States. And I explained to President Xi we can't do that anymore. We just can't do that anymore. It's a much different situation. But with all the years and all the years that you've covered trade and nations and wars and everything else, you've never seen a people come over from China to work on a trade deal. Now, will that be successful? I tend to doubt it. The reason I doubt it is because China has become very spoiled. The European Union has become very spoiled. Other countries have become very spoiled. Because they always got 100 percent of whatever they wanted from the United States."
Washington has demanded a 200-billion dollar cut in China’s U.S. trade surplus, which China reportedly offered to do by purchasing American goods along with other measures.
China has demanded President Trump ease penalties imposed on Chinese telecommunications firm ZTE, as well as end restrictions on Chinese investments in the United States.
Trump met with Liu on Thursday, but the White House is yet to comment on their talks.