Beijing [China], May 3 : China's Ministry of Commerce on Friday said that the country is currently evaluating the situation after the United States made multiple recent attempts to initiate dialogue over tariffs through various official channels, according to a report by Xinhua.
In a statement, a ministry spokesperson said that the tariff and trade wars were unilaterally initiated by the United States, and if it wants to negotiate, it must demonstrate sincerity by making preparations and taking concrete actions, such as correcting its erroneous practices and lifting the unilateral tariffs
Stating that China has noticed the US side constantly talking about adjustments to its tariff measures, the spokesperson said that "in any potential dialogue or talks, if the United States does not rectify its erroneous unilateral tariff measures, it would demonstrate a complete lack of sincerity and further undermine mutual trust," Xinhua reported.
Earlier on April 28, the Chinese Foreign Ministry rejected US President Donald Trump's claim that his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping had called him, reiterating that no talks were held between the two nations to resolve the tariff war, CNN reported.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun's statement came after Trump in an interview with Time magazine last week, said that Xi had called him.
While addressing a regular news conference, Guo Jiakun said, "As far as I know, there has been no recent phone call between the two heads of state."
He added, "I want to reiterate that China and the United States are not engaged in consultations or negotiations on the tariff issue."
According to publicly available records, Xi and Trump last spoke on January 17, days before the US leader assumed office for his second term.
According to a White House fact sheet, China's retaliatory actions have resulted in up to a 245 per cent tariff on imports to the United States. Prior to the latest revision, a 145 per cent tariff was being levied on Chinese exports to the United States.
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