Since Trump's return to the White House in January, the United States has imposed additional tariffs of 145 percent on many products from China.
These include duties initially imposed over China's alleged role in the fentanyl supply chain and later over practices Washington deemed unfair.
Beijing has responded with sweeping counter-tariffs of 125 percent on US goods.
But Trump acknowledged Tuesday that 145 percent was a "very high" level, and that this will "come down substantially".
"They will not be anywhere near that number," but "it won't be zero", the president said.
"Ultimately, they have to make a deal because otherwise, they're not going to be able to deal in the United States."
Chinese President Xi Jinping warned Wednesday that tariff and trade wars "undermine the legitimate rights and interests of all countries, hurt the multilateral trading system, and impact the world economic order".
However, foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun later in the day said that "the door for talks is wide open".
Trump's comments came after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told a closed-door event on Tuesday that the tariffs amounted to a reciprocal trade embargo.
But he said he expected a de-escalation in the near future, according to a person who was in the room.
Such a development should bring markets some relief, he added at the JPMorgan Chase-hosted event, which was not open to media.
Wall Street's major indexes jumped after a report on Bessent's comments, which came on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank's Spring Meetings. Asian markets rallied across the board on Wednesday.
MNA
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