The Treasury secretary said that the President Trump and Xi Jinping of China have a good relationship but that he was not aware of a call, which Mr. Trump had alluded to last week.

The back-and-forth added to the uncertainty surrounding Trump's erratic tariff policy, not just around China, but also as it pertains to the dozens of countries scrambling to strike their own deals.

President Donald Trump said Chinese President Xi Jinping had called him, and there are active talks to strike a trade deal, according to Time. But a Chinese official has denied that any such talks are happening.