Trump pushed back against reports suggesting exemptions for electronics like smartphones and semiconductors, saying there was no new exception announced on Friday.

China's exports jumped 12.4% in March from a year earlier as companies rushed to beat increases in U.S. tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump, the government said Monday. Imports fell 4.3% to $211.

Optimistic Chinese observers even held out hope for a grand bargain with Trump over trade, TikTok – and perhaps even Taiwan. This account of how China shifted from seeking a deal to punching back with retaliatory tariffs and threatening all-out defiance is based on interviews with more than a dozen people,