White House chief economic adviser Larry Kudlow warned China not to underestimate President Donald Trump.
"Let me just say this, the Chinese have better not underestimate the determination of President Trump to follow through and seek zero tariffs and nontariff barriers and subsidies and a level playing field and major reforms in IP (intellectual property) theft and forced transfer of technologies," he said.
"These are the things we have asked them in a number of meetings, I've participated in most of this stuff and they better not underestimate the president, that's all I'll say."
His comments came during a Friday interview on the Fox Business Network’s "Varney & Company."
China has announced retaliatory tariffs on $60 million worth of U.S. goods.
China’s finance authority released new sets of tariffs on 5,207 good imported from the U.S., ranging from 5 to 25 percent.
This comes after the administration had proposed a higher 25 percent tariff on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports.
China said the timing of its retaliatory tariffs will depend on the actions of the U.S. But Kudlow maintained Trump intends to stand tough.
"Other presidents have raised the issue of China’s illegal and unfair trading and so forth," Kudlow said. "This president is the only one to follow through…"
And he added: "The president is not about to back down."
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.