The Chinese government said that the country maintains “normal communication” with the US on trade issues. Therefore, Beijing denied information about a possible trade war with the United States.

Washington and Beijing signed a trade agreement in January 2020 before the pandemic. It contains a call for China to increase buying of US exports by $200 billion over two years. The pact expires at the end of 2021. Economists say that Beijing is lagging behind on this goal, partly due to the coronavirus.