China denies Donald Trump’s call claim

Beijing

China has rejected US President Donald Trump's claim that Chinese President Xi Jinping recently called him, according to a CNN report. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said on Monday there was no phone call between the two leaders and no talks are happening to solve the tariff war.

Speaking at a regular news conference, Guo said, "As far as I know, there has been no recent phone call between the two heads of state." He also stressed that China and the US are not discussing the tariff issue.

Trump had earlier told Time magazine that Xi had called him, saying, "He's called. And I don't think that's a sign of weakness on his behalf." Trump did not share details about the call and refused to elaborate when CNN asked him about it on Friday.

Public records show Trump and Xi last spoke on January 17, days before Trump began his second term. Since then, Trump has claimed his team is working to reach a new trade deal with China.

On Friday, before Trump’s interview was published, China urged the US not to "mislead the public" regarding trade negotiations.

According to the White House, China’s retaliatory tariffs have increased to as high as 245 percent on US imports. Earlier, the tariffs were about 145 percent. Trump, however, has exempted electronics like smartphones and computers from these new tariffs.

Meanwhile, China has raised tariffs on US imports to 125 percent but rolled back some tariffs on American-made semiconductors to protect its tech industry.