Chinese officials rebutted President Donald Trump’s claim that the U.S. and China are actively negotiating tariffs.
Trump said Wednesday that the U.S and China were “actively” talking on a daily basis.
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“China and the U.S. have not engaged in any consultations or negotiations regarding tariffs, let alone reached an agreement,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said at a briefing.
Guo said any reports of ongoing talks were false and added that China is open to negotiations, “if it’s a fight, we will fight to the end.”
Another Chinese spokesperson said, “Any claims about the progress of China-U.S. trade negotiations are groundless as trying to catch the wind and have no factual basis.”
Trump enacted a 145% tariff on China as part of his additional tariffs on nearly every nation earlier this month. Less than a week later, he walked back most tariffs for 90 days but left a 10% baseline tariff on most countries.
In return, China imposed a 125% tariff on the U.S. Relations with China appeared to improve briefly on Wednesday, as the Trump administration said it was discussing reducing its steep tariff on China.
Trump and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent gave contrary answers about any negotiations. Bessent said “both sides are waiting to speak to the other,” but did not provide further details.
“I don’t think either side believes that the current tariff levels are sustainable, so I would not be surprised if they went down in a mutual way,” Bessent told reporters Wednesday.
Trump, meanwhile, said “everybody wants to be a part of what we’re doing” and that the world’s two largest economies are in contact “every day.”
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Trump also said Tuesday that he would be “very nice” and not play hardball with Chinese President Xi Jinping during negotiations.
“We’re going to live together very happily and ideally work together,” Trump said.