China denies Trump’s claim that Xi called him, says Beijing not in talks with Washington on tariffs
President Donald Trump
and Chinese President Xi Jinping have not spoken recently, nor were Beijing and Washington currently in negotiations over tariffs, China’s foreign ministry said Monday, contrary to Trump’s claim in an interview last week.
Guo Jiakun, a spokesperson for China’s Foreign Ministry, tamped down speculation that the world’s two largest economies were engaged in trade talks during a regular news conference.
“As far as I know, the two heads of state have not called each other recently,” Guo said. “I would like to reiterate that China and the U.S. have not conducted consultations or negotiations on the tariffs issue.”
Guo added that if the U.S. is serious about negotiating, it should “stop threatening and blackmailing (China).”
Trump said in an interview published in TIME on Friday that Xi personally called him to discuss trade matters.
“He’s called. And I don’t think that’s a sign of weakness on his behalf,” Trump is quoted as saying, without providing specifics about the timing or content of the call.
Trump also asserted in the interview that the U.S. was meeting with China for trade talks. Beijing last week repeatedly denied such talks were taking place.
Trump’s tariffs on China
, which have rattled global stock markets and upended supply chains, have ballooned to 145% while China has responded by slapping a 125% tariff on its U.S. imports.
Fox News Digital’s Michael Dorgan, along with Reuters, contributed to this report.
