U.S. President Donald Trump claimed last week that he had received a phone call from Xi Jinping, but Chinese officials denied it, reiterating that "China and the United States have not consulted or negotiated on the tariff issue, let alone reached an agreement." The U.S. Treasury secretary also said in an interview that he had "no knowledge" about whether Trump actually spoke to Xi Jinping.

In an interview with ABC News on Sunday (April 27), US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessen once again defended Trump's trade strategy, but said he was not aware of Trump's claim that he had received a phone call from Chinese President Xi Jinping.Chinese

"I don't know if President Trump is on the phone with President Xi Jinping," B. I know they have a good relationship and respect for each other," before turning to the U.S.-China tariffs, saying that China would realize that "high tariffs are unsustainable for their business model" and reiterating that China must show a willingness to de-escalate the conflict.

China reiterated on Saturday that it had not held talks with the United States on trade issues. In an April 22 interview with Time magazine and published on Friday, Mr. Trump did not specify the timing of the call with the Chinese leader or the discussion.

China's Ministry of Commerce has denied on Thursday that there have been any economic and trade talks between China and the United States.

U.S.-China Tariff Talks Rashomon Trump said Xi Jinping had called

The Chinese embassy in the United States reiterated that statement in a statement on WeChat on Saturday, saying that "China and the United States have not consulted or negotiated on the tariff issue, let alone reached an agreement."

The statement did not mention Trump or Xi by name, nor did it directly respond to Trump's remarks about the call, but said the U.S. remarks were "purely confusing."

Guest comment: Can Trump answer Xi Jinping's call?

The statement said: "This tariff war was provoked by the United States, and 'the bell must be tied to the bell'." If the US really wants to resolve the issue through dialogue and negotiation, it should correct its mistakes, stop threatening and blackmailing, completely abolish all unilateral tariffs against China, and hold dialogues with China on the basis of equality, respect and reciprocity. ”

The world's two largest economies are locked in an escalating,-for-tat trade war over Mr. Trump's hefty tariffs on Chinese goods, many of which have reached as high as 145 percent.

Trump has hinted that he will announce agreements with U.S. trading partners in the coming weeks.

"They're going to be happy with a certain number," Mr. Trump said in an interview with Time magazine about China. "But you can't make them a trillion dollars on us."