China repeated Saturday that it had held no talks with the United States on trade issues, despite President Donald Trump’s claim that he had taken a call from Xi Jinping. In an interview conducted on April 22 with Time magazine and published Friday, Trump did not say when the call with the Chinese leader took place or specify what was discussed. “He’s called,” Trump said. “And I don’t think that’s a sign of weakness on his behalf.” China’s commerce ministry had already denied on Thursday that Beijing and Washington were conducting economic or trade negotiations.
