The developments came as China has struck a publicly defiant tone and Trump sowed confusion by claiming that he had spoken with Chinese President Xi Jinping, which Beijing denied.

Economic risks are growing as the two sides appear to disagree about whether they are even engaged in tariff negotiations.

China imposed 125% tariffs on all U.S. imports earlier this month in a tit-for-tat response to the Trump administration’s “reciprocal” tariffs against China.