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.

Members of Donald Trump's cabinet gave conflicting messages on Sunday about whether negotiations with China over tariffs are taking place, as the Republican president has asserted. The Trump administration signaled openness last week to de-escalating a trade war between the world's two largest economies that has raised fears of recession.