China on Saturday reiterated that it had no talks with the United States on business issues despite President Donald Trump’s claim that he had called from Xi Jinping.
In an interview held on 22 April with Time Magazine and published on Friday, Trump did not say what was discussed when a call was made with the Chinese leader or specified.
“He is called,” said Trump. “And I don’t think it is a sign of weakness on their behalf.”
The Chinese Ministry of Commerce had already denied that Beijing and Washington were conducting economic or trade talks.
In a statement posted on Saturday, the Beijing Embassy in the US capital reiterated the claim that “there has been no consultation or negotiation on tariff issues between China and the United States, give any agreement alone”.
In this statement, Trump or Xi did not mention the claim of a call from the name or directly Trump, but the United States commented that a dialogue on tariff was going on “nothing but misleading”.
“This trade war was launched by the American side,” the statement said.
“If the US really wants to solve this issue through dialogue, it must first correct its mistakes, threaten and pressurize others, and all unilateral tariff measures against China should be completely removed.”
The world’s two largest economies are locked in a growing tight-for-tat trade battle, triggering Chinese goods by Trump’s levy, reaching 145 percent on many products.
Trump suggested that he would announce deals with American business partners over the next few weeks.
“There is a number at which they will feel comfortable,” Trump referred to the time, referring to China. “But you can’t let them make a trillion dollar on us.”
