U.S. President Donald Trump asserted in an interview published on Friday that tariff negotiations were under way with China, but Beijing denied any talks were taking place, the latest in a series of conflicting signals over what progress was being made to de-escalate a trade war threatening to sap global growth.

China has called on the US to cancel its sweeping tariffs on Chinese goods entering the country as a sign that the President Donald Trump is serious about resolving the trade war between the two countries. A Chinese official said there had been no trade talks with the US, despite suggestions otherwise from the Trump administration.

China has denied any suggestion it's in active negotiations with the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump over tariffs, saying any notion of progress in the matter is as groundless as “trying to catch the wind.