President Trump on Sunday said he and the Chinese leader will “always be friends” and predicted China will open up on trade because “it is the right thing to do.”

“President Xi and I will always be friends, no matter what happens with our dispute on trade. China will take down its Trade Barriers because it is the right thing to do,” Trump wrote on Twitter.

“Taxes will become Reciprocal & a deal will be made on Intellectual Property. Great future for both countries!”

The United States and China over the past week have engaged in a tit-for-tat series of threats over trade tariffs.

The Trump administration last Monday announced it would impose $50 billion worth of tariffs on Chinese goods coming into the United States, blaming the country’s unfair trade practices for hurting American businesses.

Then China responded by saying it would enact penalties on $50 billion worth of US products.

Trump upped the ante last Thursday by threatening to put $100 billion duty on more Chinese imports.

The president has rejected claims that he’s starting a trade war with China, saying that battle has already been lost.

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“We are not in a trade war with China, that war was lost many years ago by the foolish, or incompetent, people who represented the U.S. Now we have a Trade Deficit of $500 Billion a year, with Intellectual Property Theft of another $300 Billion. We cannot let this continue!​,” he posted on Twitter last Wednesday.​