Donald Trump’s chaotic approach to the U.S.-China trade war took an odd turn this week, with the president claiming that trade negotiations are happening every day, with Beijing responding that they have no idea what he’s talking about.
To recap, the United States has put an import tax of 145 percent on Chinese goods coming into America. As inventories already in the country deplete and new stock arrives, Americans can expect to pay more for products or find shelves unstocked.
China responded by putting a 125 percent tariff on U.S. imports. Officials warned other nations striking trade deals with Trump that there will be consequences if they come at the expense of Beijing’s interests.
The president has softened his rhetoric over the past week — saying he planned to be “very nice” to reach a deal, calling the current tariff on Chinese goods “too high” and vowing it would “come down substantially.” This came after a meeting with major retailers who are believed to have sounded the alarm over what the tariffs mean for their businesses.
Nevertheless, no formal talks with China appear to have either been arranged or have taken place, no matter what Trump claims.
On the Sunday morning talk shows, Trump Cabinet members were asked to clarify who was talking with China.
Things did not get any clearer.
ABC’s Martha Raddatz asked Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent about China on This Week. He began by explaining that the Chinese business model is selling cheap goods to the United States, and if that were to suddenly stop, they would be forced to negotiate.
“President Trump, again, said he’s spoken to President Xi of China, and negotiations are ongoing, but China has firmly denied this, saying that China and the US have not consulted or negotiated on the tariff issue,” Raddatz said.
“So are negotiations actually happening? Who is talking?”
Bessent replied: “This was IMF, World Bank week, in D.C., as you know, and I had interactions with my Chinese counterparts, but it was more on the traditional things like financial stability, global economic early warnings.”
He continued: “I don’t know if President Trump has spoken with President Xi. I know they have a very good relationship and a lot of respect for each other, but again, I think that the Chinese will see that this high tariff level is unsustainable for their business.”
“Why would they deny the negotiations?” asked Raddatz.
“I think they’re playing to a different audience,” Bessent replied.
“So they’re actually going on, there are actually things happening, but the Chinese are just denying that it’s not true?” Raddatz asked by way of clarification.
“We have a process in place. And again, I just believe these Chinese tariffs are unsustainable because of the Chinese business model,” the Treasury secretary reiterated.
Turning to another Trump statement that trade deals could be arranged with multiple countries in a very short space of time, Raddatz asked about a timeline for an agreement with China, noting Bessent has told Bloomberg it could take two to three years to forge a comprehensive deal. At the IMF meetings, he called it a “slog.”
“Well, look, I think that there is a path here. So the first will be again a de-escalation, which I think the Chinese are going to have to have. Then I think there can be an agreement in principle,” he said, saying that other trade talks were following a similar trajectory.
Raddatz also pressed Bessent on Trump’s claim he’s made 200 deals on tariffs: “Who has he made deals with? Is there actually any deal at this point?”
Bessent didn’t give specifics but said he believed the president was referring to “subdeals” within the negotiations.
He also defended the president’s seemingly chaotic tactics as “strategic uncertainty.”
“Nobody’s better at creating this leverage than President Trump,” he said.
On CNN’s State of the Union, Dana Bash pressed Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins on the alleged China negotiations.
“You said that there are talks with China every day,” Bash said. “Who are the talks with and at what level? Because the Chinese are saying that’s not true.”
Rollins responded: “Well, according to our team in Washington, the conversations are ongoing regarding multiples of trade, but here multiples of the trade goods that are coming out and going in. But, the bottom line with China is this: they need us more than we need them. They need our money. They need our markets. They need our consumers and all of the above.”
She called the president “the ultimate deal maker” working to “hold China accountable.”
“And in agriculture, year upon year, decade upon decade, our goods have been taken advantage of,” she said. “The trade disparity, the non-trade barriers on top of the tariff numbers, are insane, whether it’s Argentina, or China, or Brazil, or the UK.”
On Thursday, He Yadong, China’s Ministry of Commerce spokesperson, said: “Any claims about the progress of China-U.S. trade negotiations are groundless as trying to catch the wind and have no factual basis.”
Similarly, Guo Jiakun, a spokesperson for China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said China is prepared to negotiate only under certain conditions.
“China’s attitude is consistent and clear: if you want to fight, we will fight to the end, if you want to talk, the door is open,” he said.
That same day, Trump told reporters in the Oval Office: “Well, they had a meeting this morning, so I can’t tell you. 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.”
