“Will we make a deal? There’s a very good chance we’re going to make a deal … and it [is] got to be fair,” Trump told US cable channel NewsNation on Wednesday.

“We were ripped off by China, we were ripped off by everybody, but really by China. They were the king of ripping off the United States,” the president said.

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‘Fake news’: Chinese officials dismiss claims of US trade war consultations

‘Fake news’: Chinese officials dismiss claims of US trade war consultations

Trump’s remarks to “Cuomo Town Hall: The First 100 Days”, which reiterate his recent openness to renewed trade talks with Beijing, came shortly after US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer contradicted that narrative, saying no official negotiations with China were under way.

Speaking to Fox News on Wednesday, Greer said there were no official talks with China, but noted that Washington sought a fair trade relationship with the world’s second-largest economy.

“Instead of having an economy that’s financed by the government, we want to make real stuff and sell it, and it means we have to deal with foreign trade practices that are harmful, including in China,” Greer said.