Beijing accuses Washington of misleading the public about trade talks

BEIJING - Chinas foreign ministry urged Washington on Friday to stop misleading the public on bilateral tariff negotiations, and said it wasnt familiar with reports on whether Beijing was planning to exempt tariffs on some U.S. imports.

The United States and China are not engaged in consultations or talks on the tariff issue, Guo Jiakun, a spokesperson for the ministry, said at a press briefing.

U.S. President Donald Trump asserted on Thursday that trade talks between the two countries were underway, after both Chinas foreign ministry and commerce ministry denied such negotiations.

Guo also said he was not familiar with the specifics of whether China was planning tariff exemptions on some U.S. imports.

The back-and-forth remarks by Beijing and Washington add further confusion as to when and whether the worlds two largest economies would start talks on high levies on each others goods.

Multiple rounds of tariff hikes and retaliative measures have raised U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods to 145% and Chinas on U.S. imports to 125%, upending the operations of many businesses on both sides.

The Trump administration had said it would look at lowering tariffs on some imported Chinese goods, pending talks with Beijing, Reuters reported, whereas China said the U.S. should cancel all unilateral tariffs if it wanted to solve the trade issue.

On Friday, Chinas top policymakers convened a meeting where they highlighted the need to support businesses and workers amid rising external shocks.

Tit-for-tat tariffs that began with U.S. President Donald Trumps announcement of hefty import levies on April 2 had threatened to stall trade between the worlds two biggest economies and sparked fears of a slowdown in global growth.

This week, the U.S. shifted its tone and said the situation was unsustainable, and China is considering exempting some U.S. imports from its 125% tariffs