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White House trade representative says no talks with China yet after Beijing raises tariffs on US goods

From CNN’s Alejandra Jaramillo

Trump’s trade representative, Jamieson Greer, told reporters Friday that the United States has not initiated trade negotiation talks with China.

“Not at this point,” Greer said at the White House when asked whether any discussions had taken place.

He called China’s latest retaliatory move in the trade war with the US “unfortunate.”

“I would say that the Chinese reaction this morning is not terribly surprising but certainly unfortunate,” Greer told Fox News in an interview today.

“No one else has retaliated against these reciprocal tariffs yet. China got out ahead and decided to do it and that’s why they are in a different category than the rest at this point,” the trade representative added.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping, in his first public comments on the ongoing trade war, stated that China “is not afraid of any unjust suppression.”

In response to markets’ rollercoaster reaction, Greer said, “There may be an adjustment, but I think we’re going to be on a good path.”

“So I understand that we do import a lot from China, and that actually, to me, underscores the urgency of the situation,” Greer added, saying that “we need to diversify from China.”

The trade representative seemed optimistic about agreeing to a deal with China as “a matter of enforcement, and I think if there’s mutual understanding, mutual respect, and a real agreement, you can actually move the ball forward.”