President Trump declared on Tuesday that he was not happy with how recent trade talks with China had gone, and said the United States had not reached a deal to suspend penalties on the Chinese telecom firm ZTE, disputing reports that the administration had decided to go easy on the company in return for trade concessions.

“There is no deal. We will see what happens,” Mr. Trump said in response to reporters’ questions about ZTE during a meeting with President Moon Jae-in of South Korea. Mr. Trump, when asked if he was happy with how recent trade meetings with China went, responded: “No, not really. I think that they’re a start.”

“China has made a fortune,” Mr. Trump said, just hours after his closest advisers had last gone on television to promote the success of the recent trade talks. “I’m not satisfied, but we have a long way to go,” he said.

It was the latest turn in a bewildering negotiating process that has sent the president vacillating between taking a tough stance on China and saying he would try to help the country recover lost jobs. There has been no greater source of confusion than the future of ZTE. The company’s fate hangs in the balance as long as penalties levied by the Trump administration prevent it from buying much-needed American components for its phones.