Amid rising concern about a possible trade war between the US and China, Donald Trump said on Sunday Beijing will ease trade barriers “because it is the right thing to do”, thereby allowing the economic superpowers to settle the disputes that have rattled financial markets, consumers and businesses.

However, two of the president’s top economic advisers simultaneously offered mixed messages as to the best approach to China, which has threatened to retaliate if Washington follows through with proposed tariffs.

“President Xi [Jinping] and I will always be friends, no matter what happens with our dispute on trade,” Trump wrote on Twitter. “China will take down its Trade Barriers because it is the right thing to do. Taxes will become Reciprocal & a deal will be made on Intellectual Property. Great future for both countries!”

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Trump did not explain why, in a week of economic saber-rattling between the two countries that shook global markets, he felt confident a deal could be made.

The president made fixing the trade imbalance with China a centerpiece of his presidential campaign, frequently using incendiary language to describe how Beijing would “rape” the US economically. In office he has made overtures to Xi and pressed China for help with derailing North Korea’s nuclear ambitions. But he has also ratcheted up the economic pressure and threatened tariffs, a move opposed by many fellow Republicans.

The Trump administration has said it is cracking down on Chinese theft of US intellectual property. The US bought more than $500bn in goods from China last year and now is considering penalties on some $150bn of those imports. The US sold about $130bn in goods to China in 2017 and faces a potentially devastating hit if China responds in kind.

China has pledged to “counterattack with great strength” if Trump decides to follow through on his latest threat to impose tariffs on an additional $100bn in Chinese goods, after an earlier announcement that targeted $50bn. Beijing also declared that the current rhetoric made negotiations impossible, even as the White House suggested that the tariff talk is a way to spur China to the bargaining table.

The new White House economic adviser, Larry Kudlow, said on Sunday a “coalition of the willing” – including Canada, much of Europe and Australia – was being formed to pressure China and that the US would demand that the World Trade Organization be stricter on Beijing. He also said that though the US hoped to avoid taking action, Trump “was not bluffing”.

“This is a problem caused by China, not a problem caused by President Trump,” Kudlow said on Fox News on Sunday. But he also downplayed the tariff threat as “part of the process” and said he was hopeful China would enter negotiations.

Kudlow, who started his job a week ago after predecessor Gary Cohn quit over the tariffs plan, noted that none of the US moves have gone into effect and downplayed the possibility of economic repercussions.

“I don’t think there’s any trade war in sight,” Kudlow said.

But another top White House economic adviser, Peter Navarro, took a tougher tack, declaring China’s behavior “a wake-up call to Americans”.

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“They are in competition with us over economic prosperity and national defense,” Navarro said on NBC’s Meet the Press. “Every day of the week China comes into our homes, our business and our government agencies … This country is losing its strength even as China has grown its economy.”

Trump’s latest proposal intensified what was already shaping up to be the biggest trade battle in more than a half century. Trump told advisers last week he was unhappy with China’s decision to tax $50bn in US products, including soy beans and small aircraft.

Rather than waiting weeks for US tariffs to be implemented, Trump backed a plan by Robert Lighthizer, his trade representative, and was encouraged by Navarro to seek the enhanced tariffs.

Further escalation could be in the offing. The US treasury is working on plans to restrict Chinese technology investments in the US. And there is talk that the US could also put limits on visas.

For Trump, the dispute runs the risk of blunting the economic benefits of his tax overhaul, which is at the center of congressional Republicans’ case for voters to keep them in power in the 2018 elections. China’s retaliation so far has targeted Midwest farmers, many of whom were bedrock Trump supporters.