By JOSH BOAK and DIDI TANG, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Friday that he will no longer be “Mr. NICE GUY” with China on trade, declaring in a social media post that the country had broken an agreement with the United States.

Hours later, Trump said in the Oval Office that he will speak with Chinese President Xi Jinping and “hopefully we’ll work that out,” while still insisting China had violated the agreement.

What deal Trump was referring to was not clear. But the rhetoric was a sharp break from recent optimism when he lowered his 145% tariffs on Chinese goods to 30% for 90 days to allow for talks. China also reduced its taxes on U.S. goods from 125% to 10%.

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

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Trump said the tariff reduction had “quickly stabilized” the Chinese economy, though the decrease also brought a degree of relief to U.S. companies that said the previous rates had essentially blocked their ability to bring in Chinese goods and imperiled their businesses.

The comments reflect the tensions between the world’s two largest economies, as Trump is eager to show that his tariffs can deliver meaningful results in the form of U.S. factory jobs and increased domestic investment. The Trump administration also stepped up the clash with China in other ways this week, announcing that it would start revoking visas for Chinese students studying in the U.S.

Trump’s negotiating style has often toggled between extreme threats and grand claims of progress. His mercurial approach has taken the financial markets on a wild ride of sell-offs and rallies that have produced a general sense of uncertainty.

That has been compounded by a court ruling this week that Trump had overstepped his legal authority with broad “Liberation Day” tariffs in April as well as import taxes on China, Canada and Mexico tied to fentanyl smuggling earlier this year. A federal appeals court on Thursday allowed Trump to temporarily keep collecting the tariffs under an emergency powers law while he appeals the earlier decision.

The Chinese Embassy in Washington said Friday that the two sides “have maintained communication over their respective concerns in the economic and trade fields” since officials met in Geneva nearly three weeks ago.

But the embassy also said the Chinese government had “repeatedly raised concerns with the U.S. regarding its abuse of export control measures in the computer chip sector and other related practices.”

Both countries are in a race to develop advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence, with Washington seeking to curb China’s access to the most advanced computer chips.

“China once again urges the U.S. to immediately correct its erroneous actions, cease discriminatory restrictions against China and jointly uphold the consensus reached at the high-level talks in Geneva,” the embassy said.

Sun Yun, director of the China program at the Washington-based think tank Stimson Center, said, “I think the Chinese are playing hard to get with the trade talks.”

Lin Jian, spokesman for the Chinese foreign ministry, on Friday accused the U.S. of overstretching the concept of national security by politicizing trade issues. He called the acts by the U.S. “malicious attempts to block and suppress China.”

“We firmly oppose that and will resolutely defend our legitimate rights and interests,” Lin said.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a Thursday interview on Fox News’ “Special Report” that talks with China had stalled.

Given the complexity and magnitude of the negotiations, “this is going to require both leaders to weigh in with each other,” Bessent said. “They have a very good relationship. And I am confident that the Chinese will come to the table when President Trump makes his preferences known.”

U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said Friday on CNBC that China has not removed non-tariff barriers as agreed.

“We haven’t seen the flow of some of those critical minerals as they were supposed to be doing,” Greer said.

China in December announced export bans to the U.S. of critical minerals including gallium, germanium and antimony. It announced more export controls on rare earth minerals in April, in response to Trump’s tariffs.

Citing concerns about “spot zoning,” the St. Paul Planning Commission has dealt a setback to a proposal to add more than 200 units of affordable, multi-family and artist housing at the Hamm’s Brewery campus in Dayton’s Bluff.

The city has worked closely with developer JB Vang on efforts to install affordable apartments between Payne Avenue and Seventh Street, on five city-owned acres of the long-underutilized brewery.

The effort have been opposed by brewpub owner Rob Clapp, who operates St. Paul Brewing and owns several other buildings on the same campus.

Clapp has said the new housing should be reconfigured as it would take up much of a shared parking lot he uses for his existing and nascent businesses. They include an industrial crafting shop, a distillery, a planned pop-up bar and a future cocktail tasting room.

Vote on zoning

On Friday, the Planning Commission debated rezoning five parcels of land, most of it currently zoned I2, or general industrial zoning, to H2, T3 and RM 2, which are residential, traditional neighborhood and medium-density family zoning, respectively. After an hour-long debate, they approved rezoning three of the parcels, but voted 9-2 against removing industrial zoning from existing brewery buildings at 680 and 694 Minnehaha Ave. East, as well as the shared parking lot.

Clapp, in his letters to the city, pointed out the proposed new T3 zone would be isolated from any other nearby T3-zoned parcel, creating an island of residential zoning with smaller islands of industrial zoning within it, and common driveways connecting them.

“In effect, the proposal will authorize a new kind of hybrid zoning where uses that the city has previously concluded are incompatible could exist within the same site,” said his attorney, Dan Hall, in a separate letter.

Hall pointed to the hypothetical possibility of a future crematorium, municipal incinerator, gun shop, shooting gallery, pawn shop, auto repair, or warehousing and storage that could “overlap with residential housing targeted specifically to families with young children.” Instead of pursuing rezoning, Clapp said a developer might seek a variance for adding an apartment building within an industrial zone, “so there are certainly other ways to advance,” he wrote.

A protracted debate

Minnesota courts have long frowned on “spot zoning,” or rezoning small, isolated plots of land within a larger area with incompatible zoning.

“This is pretty clearly spot zoning,” said Commissioner Richard Holst leading into the vote, noting the city should have done more to find common ground between what he deemed as two respected developers, or simply rezoned half the campus T3. “I’m looking at a map with three spots on them. We made the spots by going around them. … If this doesn’t look like spot zoning, I don’t know what does.”

The Planning Commission debated those arguments at length, noting one of the land parcels was already split-zoned between residential and industrial. Rezoning for that particular parcel was later approved.

“I think it’s complicated because we’re talking about so many individual parcels,” said Planning Commission Chair Kristine Grill. “I think it can look challenging on the map, but be practical in reality. That’s where I came down on voting in favor.”

Commissioner Nate Hood noted the commission’s zoning committee previously found the series of rezonings would not constitute spot zoning, given the mix of businesses and residences nearby. After debating both sides, he said he ultimately disagreed.

“You have two or three islands (of industrial use remaining) within the larger parcel,” Hood said, acknowledging that future development in “that long-range hypothetical could cause incompatible uses.”

Chris Hong, a city planner, said two district councils had recommended approving the rezoning, which supports the redevelopment vision laid out in neighborhood plans and the city’s overarching Comprehensive Plan. The city attorney’s office had found that the rezoning did not constitute spot zoning.

“The Comprehensive Plan has designated the site as an ‘Opportunity Site,’ which calls for higher density, mixed-use developments or employment centers,” said Hong, addressing the Planning Commission on Friday morning. “The rezoning would facilitate the development of these parcels, which have been vacant for nearly 30 years.”

The Planning Commission decision could yet be appealed to the St. Paul City Council.

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By SCOTT BAUER, AMY TAXIN and MARTHA BELLISLE, Associated Press

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Officials in communities from rural to urban and red to blue blasted the Trump administration’s list of “sanctuary jurisdictions” with many saying they’ve been outspoken supporters of the president and his stringent immigration policies.

Officials who back President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown questioned how their jurisdictions wound up on a list of more than 500 that the Department of Homeland Security says are obstructing enforcement. Several communities were misspelled, including Cincinnati, which was spelled Cincinnatti.

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Jim Davel, administrator for Shawano County, Wisconsin, said the inclusion of his heavily Republican community must be a clerical error.

“We have no idea how we got on this list whatsoever right at this point,” Davel said. “I think it was just a big mix up, probably some paperwork or something.”

Meanwhile, those with policies protecting immigrants also pushed back, saying they are doing right by their communities.

“This is simply the latest attempt by the Trump administration to strong-arm cities like Seattle into changing our local policies through bluster and threats to critical federal funding for public safety and homelessness,” Bruce Harrell, the city’s mayor, told The Associated Press in an email. “It’s not going to work — the law is on our side — and we will not hesitate to protect our people and stand up for our values.”

The list was published as the Trump administration ramps up efforts to follow through on the president’s campaign promises to remove millions of people who are in the country illegally. It came out as Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced major leadership changes, and after a White House official said the administration wanted to drive daily immigration arrests significantly higher.

The administration says each jurisdiction on the list will receive formal notification that the government has deemed them noncompliant and if they’re believed to be in violation of any federal criminal statutes.

Some communities don’t know why they were included

The list was compiled using a number of factors, including whether the localities identified themselves as sanctuary jurisdictions, how much they complied with federal officials enforcing immigration laws, if they had restrictions on sharing information with immigration enforcement or had any legal protections for people in the country illegally, according to Homeland Security.

FILE – Bags containing bedding are placed on cots inside the dormitory tent during a tour of a shelter New York City is setting up to house up to 1,000 migrants, in the Queens borough of New York, Aug. 15, 2023. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File)

But communities said the list doesn’t appear to make sense. In California’s Orange County, the city of Huntington Beach is on the list even though it has sued the state over its policies that protect immigrants and its City Council supports Trump. But the nearby city of Santa Ana, which has policies to protect members of its sizable immigrant community, is not.

In North Dakota, seven mostly small, rural counties wound up on the list, including Slope County, which has about 700 people and overwhelmingly voted for Trump in 2024. County officials reached out to Republican Gov. Kelly Armstrong’s office to see what steps to take next, and plan to discuss the matter next week with the county state’s attorney, County Commission Chairman Scott Ouradnik said.

Other communities defend their policies that protect immigrants

Communities supportive of immigrants said their policies aren’t just about immigrants but all residents by ensuring anyone who is a victim or witness feels they can come forward and report crime. States including California, Illinois and Washington, which have such policies, are on the list.

In Hartford, Connecticut, Mayor Arunan Arulampalam said the capital city’s laws and policies have enhanced the vibrancy and safety of the community. The city bars people’s immigration status from being used to deny city services and police can’t arrest people solely because of immigration status.

“While my administration remains laser-focused on real solutions that protect our community, it is clear that current federal policies do not share this commitment to safety and threaten to undermine the gains we have made,” Arulampalam said in a statement.

FILE – Members of immigration advocacy groups react as Los Angeles City Council votes to enact an ordinance to prohibit city resources from being used for immigration enforcement in anticipation of potential mass deportations under President-elect Donald Trump, inside Los Angeles City Hall on Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)

Nithya Nathan-Pineau, an attorney with the Immigrant Legal Resource Center, said it’s unclear what criteria were used to formulate the list or define the concept of sanctuary nor what legal action the government plans to take against the jurisdictions.

“It seems quite arbitrary because not all of these states or specific jurisdictions have a policy that limits cooperation with ICE,” Nathan-Pineau said. “It’s pretty clear that this is another attempt to intimidate and bully.”

What is a sanctuary jurisdiction?

There’s no clear definition of what a sanctuary jurisdiction is, but the term generally applies to state and local governments that limit cooperation with federal immigration authorities. It originated in the 1980s with U.S. churches that housed Central Americans who fled civil wars.

Last month, Trump signed an executive order requiring the secretary of Homeland Security and the attorney general to publish a list of states and local jurisdictions that they considered to be obstructing federal immigration laws. The list is to be regularly updated.

Federal departments and agencies, working with the Office of Management and Budget, would then be tasked with identifying federal grants or contracts with those states or local jurisdictions that the federal government identified as “sanctuary jurisdictions” and suspending or terminating the money, according to the executive order.

ICE, which is part of the Department of Homeland Security, enforces immigration laws nationwide. The agency often seeks state and local help in alerting federal authorities of immigrants wanted for deportation and holding them until those authorities are able to take custody.

Taxin reported from Santa Ana, California, and Bellisle from Seattle. Associated Press writers Jack Dura in Bismarck, North Dakota, David Collins in Hartford, Connecticut, Gisela Salomon in Miami and John O’Connor in Springfield, Illinois, contributed.

St. Paul is throwing a downtown block party Friday afternoon in Mears Park.

The event — to be held from 5 to 7 p.m. — is open to the public and will feature musical performances as well as food and beverages for purchase.

The city is hosting the party in partnership with Warrior’s Next Adventure, The Bulldog, Barrel Theory, and Lost Fox, as well as St. Paul Parks and Recreation, Visit St. Paul, St. Paul Downtown Alliance, and St. Paul Area Chamber.

A portion of the proceeds will be donated to Warrior’s Next Adventure, a nonprofit that helps veterans overcome mental health challenges.

City officials note that Sixth Street will be closed as part of the event.

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