Trump says the tariffs he's threatening against China aren't actually 'sustainable'

President Donald Trump on Friday flashed rare contrition about a 100% tariff he's threatened against Beijing, labeling it as an unsustainable position in the trade war between the U.S. and China.

"It's not sustainable, but that's what the number is," Trump said in a Fox Business interview with Maria Bartiromo. "It's probably not. You know, it could stand. But they forced me to do that."

The president then heaped praise on Chinese leader Xi Jinping, saying he's demonstrated strength in his leadership. "I think we're gonna be fine with China," Trump said. "But we have to have a fair deal. It's gotta be fair."

Trump's remarks underscore a de-escalatory path he's seeking to avoid intensifying a trade war that has unnerved investors, stirred uncertainty among businesses and occasionally plunged financial markets. In recent days, he threatened to impose a 100% tariff on additional Chinese products and to cut off U.S. imports of cooking oil. That followed a strict rare earth mineral export ban from Beijing.

Stocks climbed on Friday morning, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average rising 165 points, or 0.3%. The S&P 500 modestly rose as well.

Earlier this week, the Wall Street Journal reported Chinese officials are betting that President Donald Trump's attention towards the stock market serves to their advantage in a trade stand-off with the U.S.

By Beijing's calculus, the U.S. can't afford a prolonged trade war that keeps intensifying with little end in sight, a prospect they believe would tank financial markets and push Trump to make concessions. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent shut down that possibility.

"We won't negotiate because the stock market is going down, we will negotiate because we are doing what is best economically for the U.S," Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said at a CNBC event on Tuesday.