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Former President Donald Trump said Monday the United States would welcome 600,000 Chinese students to attend American colleges in a move that could thaw relations between the U.S. and China, which have soured over the past several months.

Trump announced the White House on Monday morning, as his administration moves to take a hard line on trade with China. In recent months, the Trump administration has put broad tariffs in place and signaled that more were coming.

The president also railed against American companies, saying they are too friendly to China, including Apple.

“We’re going to allow their students to come in. It’s very important, 600,000 students. It’s very important. But we’re going to get along with China,” Trump said at a White House press conference Monday.

Trump’s announcement came as Washington and Beijing remain in a standoff over tariffs. The U.S. put a 145 percent levy on Chinese goods in the first quarter of the year. China quickly retaliated with a 125 percent tariff of its own on all U.S. exports.

Negotiators in Geneva brokered a deal in May to refrain from further tariffs, but Trump suggested new penalties in recent weeks. Last week, he suggested a 200 percent tariff on magnets made in China, which he said Beijing had a near-total monopoly on.

“China, intelligently, went and they sort of took a monopoly on the world’s magnets. They have almost 100 percent of the world’s magnets. It’ll probably take us a year to have them,” Trump said.

Trade Fight and Tensions Continue

China and the U.S. each imposed new tariffs on one another’s goods earlier this year, spooking the global economy. Both leaders have since suggested they would like to ease those tensions, but Trump in particular has also signaled in recent weeks that he is open to new sanctions and penalties.

Trump said at the White House press conference on Monday that he would like to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping in the coming year.

“I would like to meet him this year,” Trump said.

“China makes them much easier than we make them,” he added.

At present, there are about 270,000 Chinese students at American universities. By contrast, Trump’s new promise would more than double that number and provide a potentially large infusion of tuition dollars into the U.S. education sector.

It also represents a reversal of Trump’s and other Republican administration officials’ stances on Chinese students. In May, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said his department would “aggressively revoke” visas for Chinese students and professionals tied to the Chinese Communist Party or working in research.

The move raised concerns in the academic community that the proposal would impact research and development as well as finances, particularly for universities that rely on tuition dollars from international students.

Trump himself mellowed that view last month, and said that he had “always been in favor” of Chinese students attending U.S. colleges.

“I know some people who are thinking of building factories. You can build a factory and employ 3,000 people,” Trump said in June.

The Trump administration has been engaged in an escalating trade war with Beijing. At present, the U.S. has a 145 percent tariff on all Chinese-made goods. The move has drawn retaliation in kind from China, which has said it would place a 125 percent tariff on all American-made products.

In May, negotiators in Geneva for the U.S. and China reached a deal that would “suspend” new tariffs for both sides. But Trump has made clear in recent weeks that he may change course on that agreement and impose new penalties.

Last week, Trump again threatened new tariffs on China-made goods, this time over magnets. In an interview, Trump said that China had essentially established a monopoly on magnets.

Trump’s comments on Monday come just before a scheduled meeting with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung. The two are set to meet on Tuesday in Florida.