Trump's 'Man-To-Man' Diplomacy Won't Work With Xi Jinping, Warns Former White House Chief Of Staff As Tariff Deadlock Continues

Former acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney has expressed doubt on President Donald Trump's ability to strike a deal with Chinese Premier Xi Jinping.

What Happened: Mulvaney, speaking to Bloomberg TV, highlighted a fundamental distinction between both leaders' approaches to diplomacy.

"There's a fundamental disconnect here," he said. "Trump wants to talk at the very highest levels. That's not always how the Chinese want to do business." Trump, who is known to prefer direct engagement, wants to have a call with Xi. The White House said it is likely to take place this week.

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Mulvaney observed that this tactic may not be compatible with how Xi usually operates. "I do not see them being able to pull off a deal the old-fashioned way, which is going through the back channels," he explained. "And I think it'd be very difficult to do a deal going the Trump way, which is only Xi to Trump man-to-man."

Why It Matters: Trump likes to communicate directly with leaders, both in case of politics and business, according to Mulvaney, who also served as his budget director in the past. This contrasts with Xi's practice of negotiating and resolving key issues through advisers before any leader-level engagement.

Mulvaney also presented a larger critique of Beijing. "They can't steal people's intellectual property. They can't force you into bad deals in order to do business in your country. They can't hide information when they deal with pandemics, like they did with Covid-19," he said. "First-tier nations of the world don't do that. China's going to become a first-tier nation. They need to step up their game."

Mulvaney's comments come just as China refuted claims of violating agreements made in Geneva, stating that it “implemented and consistently upheld” the terms of the deal reached last month.

The ministry also rebuked Washington's actions, citing "discriminatory restrictive" measures imposed by the U.S., including curbs on AI chip exports, bans on chip design software, and visa revocations for Chinese students.

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