U.S. President Donald Trump said his administration is talking with China to strike a tariff deal and that Chinese President Xi Jinping has called him, according to a Time magazine interview published on Friday as Beijing continues to dispute U.

President Trump doubled down on his confidence in tariff deals and said he plans to meet with foreign leaders during his trip to the funeral of Pope Francis.

Trump placed tariffs totaling 145% on China, leading China to retaliate with tariffs of 125% on the U.S. — essentially triggering a trade war between the world’s two largest economies with the potential to bring on a recession.

Trump pushed back on China after Beijing's foreign ministry called the administration's assertions that tariff talks are happening "fake news."

President Trump says the trade talks with China are still "active" but China is denying that. NBC News' Garrett Haake and Brian Cheung report the latest political and economic news. Professor of Economics and Public Policy at the University of Michigan Justin Wolfers joins Ana Cabrera to share his analysis on the tariff turmoil.