Trump claims meeting with China after Beijing denies any trade negotiations
US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that the US and China have been on trade talks after Beijing denied any negotiations on
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US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that the US and China have been on trade talks after Beijing denied any negotiations on tariffs.
“They had a meeting this morning,” Trump told reporters during a meeting with Norway’s Prime Minister at the White House. However, he declined to identify the Chinese representative involved, adding: “It doesn’t matter who ‘they’ is. We may reveal it later, but they had meetings this morning, and we’ve been meeting with China.”
Earlier that day, China’s Ministry of Commerce spokesperson He Yadong said there were currently no trade talks between China and the United States. “China has taken note of some recent reports in foreign media,” He said during a press conference. “As the authority responsible for foreign trade and economic relations, I would like to emphasise that there are currently no trade negotiations taking place between China and the United States. Any claims about progress in China-US trade talks are purely speculative and have no factual basis.”
On Tuesday, Trump had announced plans to reduce tariffs on China “substantially, but they won’t be zero.” At present, the US is imposing 145% import duties on Chinese goods, while China has retaliated with 125% tariffs on US products. Beijing has also implemented non-tariff measures, including restrictions on rare earth exports to the US and a halt to aircraft purchases from Boeing. The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday that the Trump administration was considering reducing tariffs on China to between 50% and 65%.
When asked about Trump’s remarks on a potential tariff reduction, He said: “If the US truly wants to resolve the issues, it should heed the rational voices of the international community and various domestic sectors, completely remove all unilateral tariff measures against China, and seek to resolve differences through equal dialogue.”
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