Donald Trump claimed to have "saved" China from the high tariffs he announced in April, at the beginning of an escalating trade war.

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Donald Trump lashed out at China in a new message (Image: Getty)

Donald Trump has lashed out at China in a new social media message, accusing Xi Jinping's government of "violating" a prelimary trade agreement struck with the US. Taking to Truth Social on May 30, the US President said: "Two weeks ago China was in grave economic danger! The very high Tariffs I set made it virtually impossible for China to TRADE into the United States marketplace which is, by far, number one in the World.

The lengthy post continued: "We went, in effect, COLD TURKEY with China, and it was devastating for them. Many factories closed and there was, to put it mildly, 'civil unrest'.

"I saw what was happening and didn’t like it, for them, not for us. I made a FAST DEAL with China in order to save them from what I thought was going to be a very bad situation, and I didn’t want to see that happen.

"Because of this deal, everything quickly stabilized and China got back to business as usual. Everybody was happy! That is the good news!!!

"The bad news is that China, perhaps not surprisingly to some, HAS TOTALLY VIOLATED ITS AGREEMENT WITH US. So much for being Mr. NICE GUY!"

Stock futures reportedly dropped on Friday following the President's post. It comes after both countries agreed to suspend most of the tariffs imposed upon imports either way on May 12 amid an escalating trade war.

It was sparked by Trump slapping bruising tariffs on Beijing, with lower levies imposed on a host of other countries around the world.

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China responded with sky-high tariffs of its own on US imports into China, a Trump later climbed down amid panic in international markets.

The agreement this month saw Washington dropping its tariff rate on Chinese imports from 145% to 30%, while Beijing reduced theirs from 125% to 10% until August 12 as they continue to negotiate on trade.

However, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent admitted on Thursday that talks with Beijing were "a bit stalled".

Trump didn't elaborate on how China allegedly breached the terms of the temporary trade truce currently in place, and Beijing is yet to respond.

It's also unclear what measures the Republican firebrand could take. This week, the US's Court of International Trade ruled that the emergency law the President invoked did not give him unilateral authority to impose tariffs on dozens of countries, including China.

However, Washington is being allowed to continue collecting tariffs while the Trump administration appeals the decision.