According to Donald Trump, the US and China held talks on Thursday to help resolve the trade war between the two biggest economies in the world.
“We may reveal that later, but they’re meeting this morning and meeting with China,” the US president told White House reporters.
China had previously fought back Trump’s previous claims and was approaching a trade deal with Beijing.
Trump on Wednesday supported the market by suggesting that the US is “actively” negotiating with Beijing and pointing to a hope for a transaction to “significantly” reduce tariffs set at 145% on goods coming to the US from China.
His Yadong, a spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of Commerce, said “there is no economic or trade negotiations between China and the United States at the moment.”
“The claims about progress in economic and trade negotiations between China and the US are unfounded rumors with no de facto evidence,” he said, adding that if the US wants to “exclude,” as Trump’s Treasury Secretary Scott Becent argued, “cancel all unilateral tariff measures against China completely and find a way to resolve differences through equal dialogue.”
Earlier this month, Beijing retaliated against Trump’s tariffs by imposing a 125% tariff in turn.
International Monetary Fund (IMF) director Christarina Georgieva used a press conference in Washington on Thursday to limit the damage to the global economy in pursuit of an escalating ceasefire in trade disputes.
She refused to directly criticize the US administration, but said that “major trade policy changes” “has “surged uncertainty from the charts.”
“A trade policy settlement between key players is essential and uncertainty is very costly and it encourages you to do it quickly,” she said.
“I can’t stress this very well enough. Without certainty, businesses won’t invest. Households prefer to save money rather than spend.
Trump and his team have repeatedly highlighted the number of countries eager to attack trade deals since his “liberation day” tariffs were imposed and partially suspended earlier this month. However, the contract has not yet been signed.
The IMF downgraded its forecasts this week due to global economic growth and warned of further downside risks if the trade war escalates. “Simply put, the global economy is facing new major tests,” Georgieva said.
She added that this situation is particularly challenging as many countries have had little room for policy manipulation after already enduring a string of economic shocks in recent years.
George Eva asked this week what the atmosphere was like for the delegation from the Washington fund’s member states. “Members are worried,” he said.
“We were trying to go the path to get more stability after multiple shocks. We were forecasting a 3.3% growth. In fact, we were worried that this wasn’t strong enough. The IMF is currently forecasting a global growth of 2.8% this year.
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Georgieva urged China to implement economic reforms in response to changes in Washington’s policy. She suggested that Beijing raises demand at home, revives the economy from its dependence on exports, and “retracts back from too many interventions in the economy.”
With many multilateral agencies being attacked by the Trump administration, George Eva welcomed a speech by Bescent on Wednesday, where he said the Breton Woods agency, the IMF and the World Bank, have “enduring value.”
“We are extremely grateful for the repetition of Secretary Becent’s reinforcement of the US commitment to the fund and its role,” she said.
But Bescent also vehemently criticized the agency for what he called “Mission Creep” and what he called “a vast, unfocused agenda,” including issues such as gender and the climate crisis.
In answering questions about these claims, Georgieva refused to say whether the IMF will continue to address climate or gender.
But she replied: “I would actually like to say to the secretary that I agree to one thing. It is a very complicated world, a world of great challenges of all kinds.” Emphasizing that the fund is a “very financially disciplined institution,” she added:
The debate on the bystanders of the IMF and World Bank meeting is dominated by the knock-on effect of Trump’s trade policy, with the minister closely monitoring the flow of declarations from the White House.
Most countries face 10% tariffs on all exports to the US, with 25% for some major products such as automobiles. It remains unclear whether the much higher “mutual” rate Trump announced at the White House Rose Garden will be reimposed when his 90-day “pause” ends.
