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Did Trump, Xi Jinping discuss tariffs negotiations? White House gives major update on trade agreement with China
The White House has not confirmed discussions between President Trump and Xi Jinping on trade war de-escalation.
The White House has yet to confirm whether President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping have discussed de-escalating the ongoing trade war between Beijing and Washington. Trump placed massive import taxes on the most of Chinese imports, worrying business leaders and economists who warned about forthcoming disaster.
In a White House press briefing on Tuesday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was asked if he could verify any talks between Trump and Xi Jinping. He sidestepped the question, stating that it was beyond the scope of his official duties to know whether any discussions had taken place.
“I would say [White House Press Secretary] Karoline {Leavitt] and I have a lot of jobs around the White House, running the switchboard isn’t one of them,” Bessent stated.
White House gives major update on US-China trade agreement
During the briefing, Bessent stressed that he would not “get into the nitty-gritty... of who's talking to whom”. Despite the fact that 17 other trade agreements are “in motion”, he stated that the prospect of adding a Sino-American trade agreement to the 18 main trade talks that are presently underway would be “put to the side.”
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Trump claimed he received call from Xi; China denies
Responding to Trump's tariffs, Beijing imposed a 125 percent duty on all US-imported goods purchased by its own citizens, with the exception of some semiconductors manufactured in the US.
In recent days, Trump has made several claims that he and Xi have discussed ending the dispute. Last week, he informed Time magazine that he got a call from Xi. Additionally, he stated in a quick Q&A session with reporters on Friday that he had talked with the Chinese President “numerous times” prior to departing the White House for the funeral of the late Pope Francis over the weekend.
However, the Chinese Foreign Ministry has consistently and strongly denied that there have been any leader-to-leader discussions. On Monday, Chinese spokeswoman Guo Jiakun stated that “the two heads of state have not called each other recently” — as far as he was aware.
The United States must stop “threatening and blackmailing” China if it truly wants to resolve the issue via discussion and negotiation, Jiakun added.
