Washington (CNN) President Donald Trump on Wednesday tried to tamp down economic anxieties over tariffs recently announced by China and the United States.

"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.," Trump tweeted, adding, "Now we have a Trade Deficit of $500 Billion a year, with Intellectual Property Theft of another $300 Billion. We cannot let this continue!"

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! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 4, 2018

He later tweeted, "When you're already $500 Billion DOWN, you can't lose!"

The President was apparently referring to a deficit of $506 billion in Chinese exports to the US in 2017. Overall, however, the US trade deficit with China is closer to $337 billion when factoring in goods and services, according to figures provided by the US Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Trump's proclamations come amid a tit-for-tat on trade restrictions that he decided to engage in.

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