The United States (U.S.) has reached out to China seeking negotiations on the 145 percent tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump, a user account linked to Chinese state media posted yesterday on a social platform, in the latest report of possible steps toward tariff negotiations.
“The U.S. proactively approached China through multiple channels, hoping that talks would be held on the issue of tariffs,” Yuyuan Tantian said in a post published on its official Weibo social media account, citing anonymous sources.
Guo Jiakun, spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said two days ago: “As far as I know, there have been no talks or negotiations between China and the U.S. about tariffs.”
In an interview for U.S. media published last Friday, Trump said that his administration was talking with China to reach an agreement on tariffs and that Chinese President Xi Jinping had called him.
Beijing denied several times last week that such negotiations were underway, accusing Washington of “misleading the public.”
Yuyuan Tantian is not one of the most authoritative accounts linked to state media. The Global Times, owned by the newspaper of the ruling Communist Party, has often in recent years been the first to publish China’s next moves in trade disputes.
Two days ago, Trump said he believed there were “very good prospects” that his administration could reach a deal with China, just hours after Xi called on China, the world’s second-largest economy, to take steps to adapt to changes on the international stage, without explicitly mentioning the U.S.
