Trump expressed his optimism about China hours after he sent mixed messages on the tariff war

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

Donald Trump, facing pressure to scale back a US-China trade war contributing to a global economic slowdown, claimed Monday that serious talks will begin soon.

Trump said his trade negotiators had received two “very good calls” from China on Sunday. But a spokesman for China’s foreign ministry said on Monday that he didn’t know what calls Trump was talking about.

Trump expressed his optimism about China hours after he sent mixed messages on the tariff war. He at first seemed to express regret Sunday over escalating the trade dispute, but the White House later said his only regret was that he didn’t impose even higher tariffs on China.

On Monday, Trump claimed the Sunday evening conversations meant China is serious about making a deal. He said later on Monday that talks also had taken place before Sunday.

“I think we’re going to have a deal, because now we’re dealing on proper terms. They understand and we understand,” Trump said.

He declined to say whether he has spoken to China’s president, Xi Jinping, or to identify those involved in the most recent conversations, saying only that they were at the “highest levels”.

“This is the first time I’ve seen them where they really want to make a deal. And I think that’s a very positive step,” Trump added as he met with Egypt’s president on the sidelines of the G7 summit.

Whenever he is asked about China, Trump almost always says he believes they want to make a deal more than he does.

He said Monday that the two sides will begin ‘talking very seriously”, adding that after the calls he believes the Chinese “mean business”.

The Chinese were unaware of any recent conversations.

“I have not heard of the weekend calls mentioned by the United States,” said Geng Shuang, a spokesman for China’s foreign ministry.

A Chinese delegation long had been expected to travel to Washington in September to continue talks and that remained the case after Trump’s escalation Friday following China’s tariff announcement.

It was unclear if Trump was referring to the previously scheduled talks next month or something else.

World leaders had encouraged Trump all weekend to de-escalate the conflict with China.

Trump last week hiked tariffs on China after China taxed some US imports in retaliation for a previous round of imports levied by Trump.

The move sent US stock market stumbling.

Trump also “ordered” US corporations to find alternatives to doing business in China and threatened to declare a national emergency to enforce it. He softened the threat on Sunday, saying he would only consider it if China again responded with raising tariffs on American goods.

Trump also said on Monday that his private golf resort near Miami is the likely venue for next year’s summit, when it’s the US turn to host the annual gathering. He said a final decision has not been made.

Trump said the club, Trump National Doral, is located minutes from Miami’s international airport and has plenty of acreage and properties to accommodate the G-7 leaders and their delegations.