China insists no trade talks with U.S., despite Trump’s claim

China denies trade talks with U.S. despite Trump's claim of call with Xi Jinping, escalating tariff tensions.

China repeated on Saturday (April 26, 2025) that it had held no talks with the U.S. on trade issues, despite President Donald Trump's claim that he had taken a call from Xi Jinping.

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In an interview conducted on April 22 with Time magazine and published on Friday, Mr. Trump did not say when the call with the Chinese leader took place or specify what was discussed.

"He's called," Mr. Trump said. "And I don't think that's a sign of weakness on his behalf."

China's Commerce Ministry had already denied on Thursday that Beijing and Washington were conducting economic or trade negotiations.

In a statement posted on WeChat Saturday, Beijing's embassy in the U.S. capital repeated that assertion, saying "there have been no consultations or negotiations between China and the United States on tariff issues, let alone any agreement".

The statement did not mention Mr. Trump or Mr. Xi by name or directly reference Mr. Trump's claim of a call, but said remarks by the United States that a dialogue on tariffs was ongoing were "nothing but misleading".