The Chinese Foreign Ministry on Monday firmly denied U.S. President Donald Trump’s claims that he had recently spoken with President Xi Jinping regarding a potential tariff deal between the two nations.
In an interview published Friday by Time magazine, President Trump stated that his administration was engaging in discussions with China and that President Xi had personally called him. However, Chinese officials swiftly contradicted this account.
“As far as I know, the two heads of state have not called each other recently,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said during a regular news briefing. “I would like to reiterate that China and the U.S. have not conducted consultations or negotiations on the tariffs issue.”
Guo criticized Washington’s approach, emphasizing that “if the U.S. truly wants to resolve the problem through dialogue and negotiation, it should stop threatening and blackmailing China.”
Speculation over potential trade talks escalated last week after Trump claimed that discussions were underway. Reuters also reported that the Trump administration was considering easing tariffs on some Chinese imports, pending negotiations with Beijing. Meanwhile, China continued to urge the U.S. to cancel all unilateral tariffs.
Beijing has repeatedly accused Washington of misleading the public about the status of trade discussions. Chinese officials stressed last week that no negotiations were taking place and reiterated their position again on Monday.
Since President Trump took office in January 2017, both nations have imposed heavy tariffs on each other’s goods, with total levies exceeding 100%. This tit-for-tat escalation has unsettled global markets and disrupted international supply chains.
Despite the trade tensions, China has exempted certain U.S. imports from its steep 125% tariffs and is encouraging companies to identify critical goods that require tariff relief, according to reports from Reuters.
On Monday, Chinese policymakers sought to downplay the impact of U.S. tariffs on China’s economic growth, aiming to reassure markets and investors concerned about the country’s ongoing recovery efforts.
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