China said today that there were no recent phone calls between Chinese President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart Donald Trump, refuting the former US president's claims, Agence France-Presse reported, quoted by BTA.
The two leading economic powers are in the midst of a trade war sparked by the Trump administration. The US has imposed 145% tariffs on most Chinese imports, to which Beijing has responded with 125% retaliatory tariffs on US goods.
In an interview published on Friday in the magazine “Time“, Trump said he spoke by phone with Xi Jinping, but did not specify when or what the discussion was about.
“As far as I know, the two heads of state have not had a phone conversation recently“, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said at a regular press conference.
Trump also claimed that discussions were underway between the United States and China to reach an agreement, predicting that the process could be completed within a few weeks.
In response to these allegations, Guo Jiakun stressed: “I would like to state again that China and the United States have not participated in consultations or negotiations on tariffs.“