White House trade policy adviser Peter Navarro said Monday that reports late last week that the Trump administration was mulling a ban on U.S. investment in China were "fake news." He said there were "transparency issues with Chinese stocks" but declined to elaborate further or indicate what policies the administration was considering.

"Here's the the thing: when these stories come out, all they are designed to do is to force the White House, people like me, to reveal the inner workings of our trade negotiations with China. I'm not going to do that," Navarro told CNBC Monday. "These things are going one behind closed doors."

Several outlets reported Friday that the Trump administration was mulling limits or even a ban on U.S. investment in China. A measure reportedly under consideration included de-listing Chinese-owned companies from the U.S. stock exchanges and prohibiting government pension programs from taking Chinese investments.