US President Donald Trump said on Friday that he has spoken to Chinese President Xi Jinping many times, but did not disclose when they last spoke or what the topics were.
When asked if he had spoken to Xi after implementing his tariff plan, Trump told reporters: “I don’t want to comment on that, but I have spoken to him many times.”
The statement came shortly after a magazine published an interview in which the Republican president said Xi had contacted him.
When asked to elaborate on the statement, Trump said he would provide more information “at the appropriate time.”
In a joint interview on Tuesday, Trump said his administration was in talks with China to reach a tariff deal. However, Beijing has again denied that any trade talks are taking place between the United States and China.
As he left the White House to attend Pope Francis' funeral in Rome, Trump also told reporters that his administration was close to finalizing a tariff deal with Japan.
"The trade deal is going very well," he said.
