China on Saturday reiterated that it had not held any discussions with the United States on trade matters, countering President Donald Trump’s claim that he had received a call from Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
In an interview conducted on April 22 with Time magazine and published on Friday, Trump asserted he had spoken with Xi, although he did not specify when the call took place or detail the content of their discussion.
“He’s called,” Trump said. “And I don’t think that’s a sign of weakness on his behalf.”
However, China’s commerce ministry had already stated on Thursday that Beijing and Washington were not engaged in any economic or trade negotiations.
On Saturday, China’s embassy in Washington, D.C., reiterated this position in a statement posted on WeChat, asserting that “there have been no consultations or negotiations between China and the United States on tariff issues, let alone any agreement.”
Although the statement did not mention Trump or Xi by name, nor directly reference Trump’s claim of a phone call, it firmly rejected suggestions that any dialogue on tariffs was underway, describing such claims from the United States as “nothing but misleading.”
“This trade war was initiated by the US side,” the statement declared.
“If the US truly wants to resolve the issue through dialogue, it must first correct its mistakes, stop threatening and pressuring others, and completely remove all unilateral tariff measures against China.”
The two largest economies in the world remain locked in an escalating tit-for-tat trade conflict, initially sparked by Trump’s imposition of tariffs on Chinese goods. The levies have now reached as high as 145 per cent on many products.
Despite the tensions, Trump indicated during his Time interview that he expects to announce agreements with U.S. trading partners soon.
“There’s a number at which they will feel comfortable,” Trump said, referring to China. “But you can’t let them make a trillion dollars on us.”
