AsianFin -- The United States and China on Thursday sent conflicting signals on trade talks between the world’s superpowers. U.S. President Donald Trump insisted there are active talks taking place after Beijing denied Washington’s assertion of ongoing negotiations.

Credit：Xinhua News Agency

“They had a meeting this morning, ” Trump said in the Oval Office at the White House, referring to U.S. official’s talks with Chinese counterparts on Thursday. The president didn’t disclose which officials joined in the meeting, though suggested details could be revealed later.

“It doesn't matter who 'they' is. We may reveal it later, but they had meetings this morning, and we've been meeting with China,” Trump told reporters.

There will be good news soon about U.S.-China trade talks, expected White House National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett in an interview with Fox Business on Thursday. “The bottom line is that everybody wants this to move forward in a positive way, and I expect that there’ll be lots of positive news to break on that soon,”  Trump’s top economic advisor said.

Earlier Thursday, the Chinese government just rebuffed U.S. trade overtures and called for removal of tariffs and fair dialogue.  

There have not been any economic and trade negotiations between China and the United States, said He Yadong, a spokesperson with China's Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM), adding that any claims of progress in economic and trade talks between the two countries are groundless and have no factual basis.

The unilateral tariff imposition measures were initiated by the United States and if the U.S. side truly wants to solve the issue, it should face up to the rational voices from the international community and from within the United States, lift all unilateral tariffs on China, and find ways to address differences through dialogue based on equality, said He.

China's stance remains consistent as it maintains an open attitude toward consultation and dialogue. However, any form of consultations and negotiations must be conducted in an equal manner on the basis of mutual respect, He said. 

"We Chinese are not troublemakers, but we will not flinch when trouble comes our way. Intimidation, threat and blackmail are not the right way to engage with China," He stressed Beijing’s stance.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun also indicated there hadn’t been engagement about trade negotiations yet.  

“None of that is true. For all I know, China and the U.S. are not having any consultation or negotiation on tariffs, still less reaching a deal,” said Guo when asked about the U.S. claims that China and U.S. are having talks and even about to reach a deal.

Guo repeated China’s position. “We will fight, if fight we must. Our doors are open, if the U.S. wants to talk. Dialogue and negotiation must be based on equality, respect and mutual benefit,” said Guo.  

Trump earlier this week softened tone on China and his team expressed optimistic on  a trade deal.

The tariff levels “won’t be anywhere near that high,” Trump said on Tuesday. “It will come down substantially but it won’t be zero.” The president replied "we're going to be very nice, they're going to be very nice, and we'll see what happens" when asked whether he planned to play "hardball" with Beijing and bring up with origins of the COVID-19 virus.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was reported on Tuesday to tell investors t the tariff standoff with China is unsustainable and is expected to de-escalate in “the very near future.”  White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the same day the Trump administration is “setting the stage for a deal with China”, adding “the ball is moving in the right direction.”

In a keynote on Wednesday, Bessent said there is an opportunity for “a big deal”  if China is willing to take actions to rebalance its economy to more consumption and less dependence on export-led manufacturing growth as the U.S. seeks rebalancing in the opposite direction.

Bessent cautiously stated it could take two or three years to come up with a full U.S.-China deal. He dismissed a report about the Trump administration's possible cutting China tariffs in some cases by more than half.

"I think both sides are waiting to speak to the other," Bessent said. "I think at this point there would have to be a de-escalation by both sides," the Treasury secretary added, saying that "I would not be surprised if they went down in a mutual way," and that there is "no unilateral offer from the president to just de-escalate."