China denies Trump’s claim of recent call with Xi Jinping

China's Foreign Ministry has stated that Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump had not held a recent phone call.

Trump had asserted in an interview that Xi Jinping had called him to discuss the tariffs imposed by the White House during his presidency, Caliber.Az reports via foreign media. 

In contrast, Guo firmly stated, "The presidents of China and the United States didn't have a call recently". Additionally, Guo clarified that there had been no consultations or negotiations between China and the US concerning tariffs. 

President Trump launched a full-scale trade war when he announced on April 2 the imposition of customs tariffs on goods from 185 countries and territories. On April 9, he revealed that he was suspending tariff hikes for 75 countries willing to negotiate, with a 10 per cent import duty set for them.

However, this exemption did not apply to China. US President Trump then promised that tariffs on Beijing would be set at 104 per cent until China agreed to a trade deal with the US. This led to retaliatory measures: China raised tariffs on US goods to 84 per cent. 

In response, Trump announced an immediate increase in tariffs on Chinese goods to 125 per cent. When factoring in the previously imposed 20 per cent tariff for what was perceived as insufficient efforts by Canada, Mexico, and China to combat the spread of the drug fentanyl, the total tariff on Chinese goods now stands at 145 per cent.

By Naila Huseynova