"I'm leaving them on because otherwise we have no cards to negotiate with," Trump said at a White House event to sign the Phase 1 deal
China has pledged to buy almost $80 billion of additional manufactured goods from the United States
A source familiar with the trade talks also told Reuters that US officials could travel to China after Thursday's Thanksgiving holiday in the United States
The amount of tariff relief that would come in the first phase, set to be signed in the coming weeks, would depend on the content of that agreement, spokesman Gao Feng said
While many US companies acknowledge China's efforts to improve intellectual property laws, especially with respect to trademark and brand protection, they still feel China's safeguards come up short
China has hit back against each previous tariff increase by the US, so not responding in kind this time may signal a change in strategy
China on Friday said it would impose retaliatory tariffs on $75 billion of US goods, targeting crude oil for the first time and renewing punitive duties on American-made autos
The tariffs of 10 per cent and 5 per cent take effect on two batches of goods on September 1 and December 15, the official Xinhua News Agency said
The president indicated that he had no choice but to impose the tariffs that have been a drag on US manufacturers, financial markets and, by some measures, American consumers
Trump on Sunday pushed back against talk of a looming recession after a raft of US data reports last week gave a mixed outlook for the economy
President Donald Trump has said he plans to impose 10 per cent duties on an additional $300 billion of Chinese imports
Trump has been singling out countries for punitive tariffs way in excess of those imposed on imports from other countries which is outlawed by WTO
US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin are headed to Shanghai next week for resumption of trade talks with China
The statement came just days before Trump is due to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping in Buenos Aires
On Thursday, President Trump confirmed that the US would begin collecting tariffs on $34 bn worth of Chinese imports at 12:01 am Washington time on Friday