China says US should revoke unilateral tariffs, denies talks

China demanded that the US revokes all unilateral tariffs and denied there were talks on reaching a trade deal, maintaining a defiant stance despite President Donald Trump's recent easing of criticism of the country.

"The US should respond to rational voices in the international community and within its own borders and thoroughly remove all unilateral tariffs imposed on China, if it really wants to solve the problem," Commerce Ministry spokesman He Yadong said at a regular briefing on Thursday in Beijing.

He also dismissed speculation that progress has been made in bilateral communications, saying "any reports on development in talks are groundless," and urging the US to "show sincerity" if it wants to make a deal.

The remarks suggest that Trump's comments this week signalling that he could lower tariffs on China — which currently stand at 145 percent for most goods — will not be enough to de-escalate tensions. The US leader said Wednesday that "everything's active" when asked if he was engaging with China and that Beijing was "going to do fine" once talks had settled.

Trump has tried to get President Xi Jinping on the phone a number of times since he returned to office, but the Chinese leader has, so far, resisted.

Beijing wants to see a number of steps from Washington before it will agree to trade negotiations, including showing more respect and naming a point person for the dialogue, Bloomberg News previously reported. Other conditions include a more consistent US position and a willingness to address China's concerns around American sanctions and Taiwan, the self-ruled island that Beijing has vowed to claim someday, by force if necessary. .