The Chinese Foreign Ministry on Monday rejected US President Donald Trump’s claim that his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping had called him, reiterating that no talks were held between the two nations to resolve the tariff war, CNN reported.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun’s statement comes after Trump, in an interview with Time magazine last week, said that Xi had called him. While addressing a regular news conference, Guo Jiakun said, “As far as I know, there has been no recent phone call between the two heads of state.” He said, “I want to reiterate that China and the United States are not engaged in consultations or negotiations on the tariff issue.”
China has continued to take a tough public stance on the trade war even as Trump softened his tone last week. He said that astronomical US tariffs on Chinese products will “come down substantially” and promised to be “very nice” at the negotiating table as he attempts to get Xi to initiate talks, CNN reported.
Referring to Xi in the Time magazine interview published on Friday, Trump said, “He’s called. And I don’t think that’s a sign of weakness on his behalf.” Trump did not mention details regarding his call with Xi Jinping in the interview, and he did not even elaborate when asked by CNN on Friday. In response to CNN’s question while leaving the South Lawn at the White House, Trump said, “I don’t want to comment on that, but I’ve spoken to him many times.”
According to publicly available records, Xi and Trump last spoke on January 17, days before the US leader assumed office for his second term. Since last week, Trump has repeatedly said that his administration is holding talks with Chinese officials to strike a trade deal.
On Friday, China’s Foreign Ministry urged the US not to “mislead the public” on trade negotiations between the two nations. The statement came hours before Trump’s interview with Time magazine.
According to a fact sheet released by the White House, China’s retaliatory actions have resulted in up to a 245 per cent tariff on imports to the United States. Prior to the latest revision, a 145 per cent tariff was being levied on Chinese exports to the United States.
However, Trump has exempted imports of electronics like smartphones and computers from “reciprocal tariffs.”
In response, China has increased tariffs on US imports to 125 per cent. However, it has rolled back the levies on some semiconductors made in the US, according to import agencies, as Beijing tries to soften the impact of the trade war on its tech industry.
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