WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Friday, Sept. 11, 2026, that he would not oppose Chinese automakers opening plants to build cars in the United States — so long as they hire American workers — while keeping Chinese vehicle imports out, he told Fox News’s The Ingraham Angle, according to Reuters and NBC News.

“If China wanted to come in and open a plant to build their cars here, I’d be okay with that,” Trump said. “Japan does it, but they hire our people. The big thing is they hire our people.” He added that he does not want Chinese automakers to build in Mexico and ship into the U.S., and said, “I’m not knocking Chinese cars.”

Trump is due to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping in Washington in about two weeks. U.S. automakers have urged him not to open the market. On Wednesday, Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) warned of “rumors” Trump might allow Chinese cars to be sold here as part of a larger deal; Trump called that a “total phony rumor” and said he had kept Chinese vehicles out, Reuters reported.

A Biden-era 2025 rule effectively bars Chinese automakers from selling or building passenger vehicles in the U.S., and Washington still levies more than 100% tariffs on Chinese EVs. Last week the Alliance for Automotive Innovation — representing GM, Ford, Toyota, Volkswagen, Hyundai, Honda, Stellantis and others — pressed Congress to pass legislation by year-end permanently barring Chinese vehicles. CEO John Bozzella wrote that Chinese firms are “dumping subsidized vehicles with connected software and hardware around the world.”

Trump’s plant-yes / import-no line is classic deal-making theater ahead of Xi: invite factories that need U.S. labor while keeping the tariff wall. Whether Detroit’s permanent-ban bill or a White House carve-out wins will decide if “hire our people” becomes policy or just a Fox sound bite.

Sources