China denies Xi comments aimed at settling US dispute

BEIJING — China’s government has denied President Xi Jinping’s promises this week to cut import tariffs on cars and open China’s markets wider were aimed at settling a worsening tariff dispute with Washington.

State media cited a Commerce Ministry spokesman, Gao Feng, as saying on Thursday that negotiations are impossible under “unilateral coercion” by President Donald Trump’s administration, which has threatened to raise tariffs on $50 billion of Chinese goods.

Gao said Xi’s pledges to cut import tariffs, ease restrictions on foreign ownership in its auto industry and make other changes were aimed at improving China’s economy.

The official Xinhua News Agency paraphrased Gao as saying Xi’s pledges “have nothing to do with Chinese-U.S. trade frictions.”