Although US President Donald Trump claimed to have received a phone call from Chinese President Xi Jinping, China said on Saturday that there were no trade talks with the US.
In an interview given to Time magazine on April 22, Trump claimed that there were trade talks without saying when the conversation with the Chinese leader took place or what was discussed.
Trump said, "He has been called and I don't think it's a sign of weakness on my part." China's Ministry of Commerce has already denied on Thursday that there are economic or trade talks between Beijing and Washington.
A statement posted on Saturday on the Chinese social network WeChat said, "There has been no consultation or negotiation between China and the United States on tax hikes, let alone any agreement." The
statement did not mention Trump or Xi's name or directly mention Trump's claim of a phone conversation, but the comment that talks on the United States tax hike are ongoing is "nothing but misleading."
"This trade war was started by the American side," the statement said, "If America really wants to solve the problem through negotiations, it should first correct its mistakes, stop threatening and pressuring others, and completely remove all unilateral tax increases against China." With the announcement of the US tax increase, many Chinese products imported into the US have reached 145 percent. China has also announced a retaliatory tax increase against the US.
Trump has said he will announce deals with US trading partners in the next few weeks. Pointing to China, Trump said to TIME, "There are a lot of situations where they feel comfortable, but now we're not going to let them make a trillion dollars off us."
