China Dismisses Trump's Alleged Progress in Trade Discussions

The aspirations of President Donald Trump to ease trade tensions with China, the globe's foremost economic powerhouses, were dampened by Beijing. The ongoing trade conflict has caused ripples across the world's financial markets.

During a conversation with reporters on Wednesday, Trump mentioned that negotiations between the U.S. and China were 'actively' occurring. However, by Thursday, a spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry clarified that such discussions had yet to take place.

"That is entirely false," stated Guo Jiakun, the Foreign Ministry spokesperson, during their daily media briefing. He emphasized that, to the best of his knowledge, there have been no tariff-related consultations or negotiations happening between China and the United States, nor is there a deal on the horizon.

Nonetheless, Wall Street saw a positive shift on Wednesday following optimistic remarks from Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and President Trump about the potential for a trade agreement. According to a report by The Wall Street Journal, the White House is contemplating measures to mitigate tensions, potentially by reducing some of the imposed tariffs.

Bessent expressed, 'there exists a chance for a significant agreement.'

Earlier, on Tuesday, President Trump indicated that tariffs on Chinese products could be dramatically reduced from the current 145% level, a response implemented by the White House subsequent to China imposing retaliatory tariffs following Trump's 'Liberation Day' proclamation.

As per information from CNBC, another Chinese representative confirmed the absence of any ongoing discussions.

"Currently, there are unequivocally no economic or trade dialogues occurring between China and the U.S.," remarked He Yadong, spokesman for the Ministry of Commerce. His comments were initially delivered in Mandarin and later rendered into English by a financial news outlet.

Requests for comment from the White House by Business Insider have gone unanswered.