China's foreign ministry on Monday said President Xi Jinping had not spoken to Donald Trump recently, nor were their respective administrations trying to strike a tariff deal, contradicting the U.S. president's claim in an interview with Time magazine,
Reuters reports.
"As far as I know, the two heads of state have not called each other recently," Guo Jiakun, a ministry spokesperson, said. "I would like to reiterate that China and the U.S. have not conducted consultations or negotiations on the tariffs issue."
"If the U.S. really wants to solve the problem through dialogue and negotiation, it should stop threatening and blackmailing (China)," Guo told a regular news conference.
U.S. President Donald Trump said in an interview published on Friday that his administration was talking with China to reach a tariff deal and that President Xi had called him. Beijing last week repeatedly denied such talks were taking place, accusing Washington of "misleading the public."
Speculation about trade negotiations between the world's largest economies swirled last week, after Trump asserted on Thursday that trade talks were underway.
The Trump administration would look at lowering tariffs on some imported Chinese goods, pending talks with Beijing, Reuters reported last week, while China urged the U.S. to cancel all "unilateral" tariffs.
